Many Illinois nursing home residents require a higher level of care to ensure their health and well-being is maintained. Unfortunately, due to overcrowded conditions, understaffing or a failure to provide adequate training, many facilities fail to take appropriate measures to ensure that every resident receives the supervision, monitoring and care they deserve and require. Unfortunately, the Mendota elder abuse attorneys at Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers LLC have handled many cases where the resident suffered unnecessary injury or premature death due to accidents caused by the negligent actions of the nursing staff.
Mendota Lutheran Home
Mendota Lutheran Home is a 99-certified-bed “not for profit” Medicaid/Medicare-approved facility providing nursing services to residents of Mendota and LaSalle County, Illinois. The Center is located at:
500 Sixth Street
Mendota, IL 61342
(815) 539-7439
In addition to providing skilled nursing care, the facility also offers long-term care, wound care, respite care, hospice, diathermy treatment, urinary incontinence care, restorative nursing care and pain management.
Mendota Nursing Home Resident Safety Concerns
To ensure the public remains fully aware of the level of care every nursing home provides, both the federal government and the state of Illinois routinely update their nursing home database system. The updates include a complete history of all safety concerns, health violations, filed complaints and opened investigations of nursing homes throughout the United States. The search results can be found on numerous websites including Medicare.gov.
Currently, Mendota Lutheran Home maintains an overall five out of five available star rating in the national Medicare star rating summary system. This includes five out of five stars for staffing issues, four out of five stars for health inspections and three out of five stars for quality measures. However, our Mendota Illinois nursing home neglect attorneys have found numerous safety concerns and deficiencies involving this facility that include:
- Failure to Provide Every Resident an Environment Free of Accident Hazards and a Failure to Provide Adequate Supervision to Prevent Injuries from Occurring
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated 10/10/2015, a notation was made by a state surveyor during an annual licensure and certification survey involving the facility’s failure to “provide supervision for a resident on the toilet, resulting in a fall.” The deficient practice by the nursing staff at Mendota Lutheran Home involved a resident diagnosed with “chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), chronic pain syndrome, history of pelvic fracture, pain and knee, generalized muscle weakness, chronic ischemic heart disease, fibromyalgia, osteoporosis and difficulty walking.”
The resident’s 10/27/2013 Care Plan notes the “resident at risk for falls” with interventions that include “don’t leave resident unattended in the bathroom. Keep call light and all necessary items within resident’s reach. Respond promptly to call light.”
The state investigator reviewed the resident’s 09/26/2015 Fall Report that stated that the staff was “called into room. Upon walking in, patient was on floor sitting up. Patient alert and oriented… Resident observed to have an abrasion on the top of [their] head was scant blood and bone.” The resident stated “I fell. I hit the top my head against the wall and my shoulder is bothering me.” Additional notations include that the resident’s “call light was on at the time of the fall.”
The state investigator interviewed the facility’s Interim Director of Nurses on the morning of 10/08/2015 who stated that “we don’t have a specific timeframe for answer call lights. All nursing staff is to answer call lights. We checked the call light report when [the resident’s] call light had been on for 20 minutes.
An interview was conducted with the resident on the morning of 10/08/2015 who stated “I slipped off the toilet. I leaned over and fell. I put my call light on. It was 20 minutes. They aren’t supposed to leave me when I’m on the toilet. There are to wait in my room, right outside of the bathroom door.”
The state investigator noted that the actions of the nursing staff at the facility failed to follow the facility’s policy titled Call Light Policy that directs the staff to:
“When the resident is in better confined to a chair be sure the call light is within reach of the resident. Answer the resident’s call light as soon as possible.”
- Failure to Prevent the Spread of Infection throughout the Facility
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated 02/27/2015, the state investigator noted the facility’s failure to “follow handwashing/hand hygiene policy by staff not washing their hands.” The deficient practice by the nursing staff affected four residents “reviewed for infection control.”
An observation was made of a Licensed Practical Nurse on the morning of 02/25/2015 who “coughed into [their] right hand while preparing [the resident’s] blood glucose monitoring insulin.” At that time, the Licensed Practical Nurse put on gloves onto their “hands and performed a blood glucose monitoring insulin administration without performing hand hygiene […and] did not perform hand hygiene after removing the gloves.”
Mendota Illinois Nursing Home Abuse Lawyers
If you suspect your loved one has suffered an injury or premature death due to the negligent actions of any nursing home in Illinois, including Mendota Lutheran Home, Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers LLC can provide immediate legal intervention. Our Illinois nursing home abuse lawyers can ensure your family receives the financial recompense they deserve.
Call our LaSalle County elder abuse attorneys at (888) 424-5757 today to schedule a no-obligation free full case review. No upfront fees are required.
http://www.idph.state.il.us/ltc/docs/SurveyResult/6006050FA10102015.PDF
