The Administrator and management staff at every Illinois nursing home must take appropriate measures to prevent potential sexual, physical, verbal or emotional abuse of its residents. This includes performing background checks prior to hiring a new employee and during ongoing intervals throughout their employment. The state provides a workers’ registry that lists all incidences involving abuse, neglect, and mistreatment at previous places of employment. Unfortunately, not every facility follows protocol and takes appropriate measures to perform a background check. Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers LLC represent abused and injured residents of Illinois nursing facilities like Aperion Care of Colfax to stop the abuse and ensure the patient’s rights are protected.
Aperion Care of Colfax
This facility is a 60-certified-bed ‘for profit’ Medicaid/Medicare-participating Center providing nursing services to residents of Colfax and McLean County, Illinois. The nursing home is located at:
402 S. Harrison
Colfax, IL 61728
(309) 723-2591
Along with providing skilled nursing care, Aperion Care of Colfax also offers:
- Medication management
- Tracheostomy care
- Respiratory therapy
- Wound care
- Pain management
- Alzheimer’s/dementia care
- IV infusion therapy
- Cardiac rehabilitation
- Speech, occupational and physical therapies
- Joint replacement/orthopedic therapy
- Post-stroke rehabilitation
- Palliative/hospice care
Colfax Nursing Home Resident Safety Concerns
The state of Illinois and the federal government regularly update their nursing home database system with full details of all safety concerns, filed complaints, opened investigations and health violations. The search results can be found on numerous sites including Medicare.gov.
Currently, Aperion Care of Colfax maintains an overall one out of five available rating in the national Medicare comparison analysis star rating summary system. This includes three out of five stars for quality measures, and one out of five stars for both health inspections and staffing concerns. The McLean County nursing home neglect attorneys at Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers LLC have found serious deficiencies and safety concerns at this facility that include:
- Failure to Investigate and Report Allegations of AbuseIn a summary statement of deficiencies dated 04/06/2016, a notation was made by a state investigator during an annual licensure and certification survey concerning the facility’s failure to “check the Health Care Worker Registry for an ancillary staff member prior to contact with residents.” The state investigator also noted the failure “to initiate a live scan fingerprint check. This failure has the potential to affect all 31 residents residing in the facility.”The state investigator noted that the “Illinois Healthcare Registry was not checked for prior reports of abuse, neglect or misappropriation of resident property and for disqualifying offenses on previous life scan fingerprint checks until 04/06/2016 for [a dietary worker].” The record showed that the dietary worker “was hired on 03/11/2016.” The facility Administrator verified on the morning of 04/06/2016 that “the Healthcare Worker Registry was not checked for any of the new staff hired the last four months, including” the dietary worker. The investigator noted this was in violation of the facility’s 01/01/2015 Abuse Prevention Program Policy that reads in part:
“The facility will not knowingly employ any individual convicted of resident abuse, neglect or misappropriation of policy. The facility would not knowingly employ any staff convicted of any of the crimes listed in the Illinois Healthcare Working Background Check Act… or with findings of abuse, neglect… listed” in the registry. “Prior to a new employee starting a work schedule, this facility will… check the Illinois Healthcare Worker Registry.”
- Failure to Provide Every Resident an Environment Free of Accident Hazards and Provide Adequate Supervision to Avoid Injury In a summary statement of deficiencies dated 04/06/2016, a complaint investigation against the facility was opened for its failure to “ensure that over the counter pain medications, potentially hazard cleaning chemicals, and disposable razors were stored in locked area to prevent resident access. The facility also failed to maintain intake filters and hairdryers in the Beauty Shop in a clean condition to prevent possible overheating.”The findings of the investigator were noted on the afternoon of 04/04/2016 “in the West Bathing Room, [where] the storage cabinet above the sink counter was ajar, with the key in the lock. A dispenser of bleach wipe towels… And dozens of disposable safety razors were on the bottom shelf. A bottle of ibuprofen… Was on the second shelf. The pain medicine had no pharmacy label or name. The West Bathing Room was not provided with the lock to prevent resident access.”
The state investigator noted that the actions by the employees at the facility failed to follow their December 2015 Storage of Hazardous Chemicals Policy that reads in part:
“Medications must only be accessible to authorize staff and locked when not under the direct observation of authorized staff… No medication should be left unattended.”
Colfax Illinois Nursing Home Abuse Lawyers
If your loved one was the victim of abuse or neglect while a patient at Aperion Care of Colfax, contact the Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers LLC law firm now. Our Illinois nursing home attorneys can provide numerous legal options on how to obtain compensation and hold those responsible for abusing your loved one financially accountable.
We encourage you to contact our McLean County elder abuse law offices by calling 888 424-5757 today to schedule your free, full case evaluation. No upfront payment is required because we accept every nursing home neglect and abuse case through contingency fee agreements and are paid for our services only after we have successfully resolved your case.
Sources:
http://bit.do/RILnursingAperColf
https://aperioncare.com/locations/colfax/
http://www.idph.state.il.us/ltc/docs/SurveyResult/6006852FI04062016.PDF
For more information on specific Aperion Care Center facilities, please reference the pages below:
- Aperion Care Amboy
- Aperion Care Burbank Nursing Home
- Aperion Care Chicago Heights
- Aperion Care Decatur
- Aperion Care Dolton
- Aperion Care Elgin
- Aperion Care Forest Park
- Aperion Care International
- Aperion Care Jacksonville
- Aperion Care Oak Lawn
- Aperion Care of Evanston
- Aperion Care of Galesburg
- Aperion Care of Hidden Lake
- Aperion Care of Highwood
- Aperion Care of Litchfield
- Aperion Care of Saint Elmo
- Aperion Care Spring Valley
- Aperion Care Springfield
- Aperion Care Tolleston Park
- Aperion Care Wilmington
