Attorneys for Patients Mistreated at Chalet Living & Rehabilitation Center

Chalet Living & Rehabilitation Center is a 219 bed nursing home located in Cook County, Illinois at:

Chalet Living & Rehabilitation Center
7350 North Sheridan Rd.
Chicago, IL 60626
Website: http://www.chaletliving.com/

According to state nursing home data, the patients at Chalet Living & Rehabilitation Center are primarily admitted for the care relating to the following areas:

• Alzheimer Disease
• Circulatory System
• Neoplasms
• Endocrine/Metabolic
• Nervous System
• Respiratory System
• Digestive System
• Musculo-Skeletal Disorders

Disturbing Findings Regarding Patient Care at Chalet Living & Rehabilitation Center

The nursing home attorneys of Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers LLC, reviewed records from the survey conducted by ProPublica—a private health inspection firm—and discovered series of patient neglect and abuse during their stay at Chalet Living & Rehabilitation Center which can be construed as nursing home negligence. These situations were:

• Failure to follow policies to prevent abuse:  “12 of 15 CNA (certified nurse aides) (E32, E36, E29, E22, E23, E27, E28, E30, E31, E25, E26, E33) were not verified on the health care worker registry prior to employment at the facility. -8 of 15 (E24, E26, E27, E30, E29, E32, E33, E35) certified nurse aides criminal backgrounds were not checked in a timely manner prior to employment. -facility also failed to obtain information from previous employers for 19 of 19 (E22, E23, E24, E31, E25, E26, E27, E28, E30, E29, E32, E33, E34, E35, E36, E37, E38, E39, E40) employees. This failure has the potential to affect all 113 residents in the facility. E40 (human resources) stated when interviewed on 1/13/12 at 2:00 PM, that the facility had not yet obtained the necessary equipment to check each employee against the healthcare worker’s registry. E40 further stated that she is aware that all CNA’s are to be checked on the registry/criminal background/ references prior to hiring. E40 stated that she is aware that the above should have been checked for each employee before these employees were hired. ”

• Failure to develop care plans to address the needs of individual residents: “R2’s nursing note dated 12/11/11, timed 7-3, state that R2 was found on the floor in a side-lying position. R2 told staff that he tried to transfer himself and fell. R2’s fall risk assessment of 11/16/11 documents a fall risk score for R2 of 12. This form indicates that a total score of 10 or higher indicates the resident is at risk for falls. Review of R2’s care plan of December 2011 reflects no care plan for falls. This information was presented to E1 (Asst. Admin) and E4 (DON) in the daily status meeting on 1/12/12 at 3:00 pm.”

• Failure to provide supervision to prevent avoidable accidents: “R15 has an ileostomy bag which she removes repeatedly causing liquid feces to come in contact with her skin. This failure resulted in R15 having an excoriated
  inflamed area of skin from below her rib cage covering her entire abdomen. The reddened area extends all the way down to her perineal area and inner aspect of her thighs. R15 was hospitalized for [DIAGNOSES REDACTED]. On 1/12/12 at 12:20 PM R15 was up in her wheel chair in the dining room. R15’s pants were wet down to her knees and smelled of urine and feces. There were no staff members present in this area. R15 states at this time that she is in a lot of pain from her skin being so inflamed. E1 states that R15 has not been on any type of scheduled monitoring or close observation. The care plan list other interventions related to assessing and monitoring R15’s stoma site. All these interventions are non-specific and time frames are “As needed”. The interventions do not address R15’s behavior of removing the ostomy bag specifically and/or supervising R15 on a more frequent basis.”

• Failure to implement interventions to prevent falls/fall injuries: “On 01/11/12 at 1:50 PM, R1’s fall from the bed to the floor was heard by a surveyor but unwitnessed by facility staff. R1 was found lying on her back on the floor beside her bed and struggling to raise her head up. E19, nurse entered the room and said, “Where are her mats?” A floor mat was observed on the floor under the bed. On 01/12/12 at 1:10 PM, R1 was observed lying in bed with only one floor mat in place, on the right side of R1’s bed. This was brought to the attention of the nurse, E19. E19 then directed E20, CNA (Certified Nurse Aide) to locate the other floor mat. E20 looked in the room for the other mat but did not locate another one. E20 said that she would go find one on another floor.”

• Failure to prevent serious medication errors: “On 11/11/12 at 10:35 AM R26 stated he had not received his [MEDICATION NAME] (antidepressant) medication for 2-3 days. R26 further stated he missed both AM and PM doses and that he informed staff who told him they were out of the medication and were waiting for the pharmacy to deliver it. On 1/11/12 at 2:05 PM E4 DON (Director of Nursing) stated she was not sure why the medication had been missed and she would contact the pharmacy to see what happened. Review of Drug Reorder sheet on 1/11/12 at 3 PM indicated that [MEDICATION NAME] 37.5mg medication was reordered from pharmacy on 1/7/12 at 07:46. Per Pharmacy Drug Refill order instructions (undated), medications should be re-ordered 2 days in advance of need. On 1/12/12 at 1:50PM E4 stated “The nurses didn’t follow up with the re-order of 1/7/12. I’m going to in service them because they don’t all know to follow up if a medication isn’t available.”

Chicago, IL Nursing Home Attorneys

The Illinois Nursing Home Attorneys at Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers LLC represent families and individuals who have suffered an episode of abuse or neglect during an admission to a facility. Many of our nursing home lawsuits involve the following situations:

• Bed Sores / Pressure Pores
• Fractures
• Repeated Falls
• Dropped Patients
• Medication Errors
• Physical Abuse
• Patient Wandering
• Wrongful Death

Are You Concerned for your Loved One? Take the Proper Steps

If your loved one has been abused or neglected during an admission to Chalet Living & Rehabilitation Center, or a different skilled nursing facility in Illinois, you should contact an attorney to determine your legal rights. Our nursing home attorneys have experience getting superior results for all types of cases. Put our team to work for your family and get the results that you deserve. All of our initial consultations are free and we never charge a fee without a recovery for you. Talk to an experienced attorney today (888) 424-5757