The medical staff in nursing facilities all across the state of Illinois are required to follow established procedures and protocols set forth by federal and state nursing home regulatory agencies. Many of these protocols are designed to minimize the spread of infection throughout the facility to ensure that every resident’s health and well-being is maintained and free of preventable transmittable contagions. Unfortunately, the DeKalb elder abuse attorneys at Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers LLC have represented many residents who have suffered serious injuries or premature death caused by a preventable infection due to the negligent actions of the nursing staff.
Oak Crest DeKalb Area Retirement Center
Oak Crest DeKalb Very Retirement Center is a nonprofit 6-certified bed Medicare-accepting nursing facility providing services to residents of DeKalb and DeKalb County, Illinois. The Center is located at:
2944 Greenwood Acres Drive
Dekalb, Illinois 60115
(815) 756-8461
In addition to providing skilled nursing care, Oak Crest also provides duplex living, independent apartments, and assisted-living options.
DeKalb Nursing Home Resident Safety Concerns
To ensure that families have all the information they need before placing a loved one in a nursing facility, the state of Illinois and the federal government routinely update their nursing home database systems. This information reflects the history of opened investigations, filed complaints, safety concerns and health violations at every facility in the United States. The updated information can be found on numerous sites including Medicare.gov
Currently, Oak Crest DeKalb Area Retirement Center maintains an overall four out of five available star rating in the Medicare star rating comparative analysis summary tool system. This includes four out of five stars for health inspections and three out of five stars for quality measures. However, our DeKalb nursing home neglect attorneys have found numerous safety concerns that involve this facility that include:
- Failure to Develop, Implement and Enforce Programs that Investigate, Controls and Keeps Infection from Spreading
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated 06/24/2015, the state investigator noted the facility’s failure “to have a detailed system to track infections and causative agent.” The investigator also noted the facility staff’s failure “to wash hands after providing care […and] failure to discard a contaminated irrigation tray to prevent cross-contamination.”
An observation was made of a Registered Nurse providing a blood glucose sugar test on a resident at 11:15 AM on 06/22/2015. The Registered Nurse “knelt on the floor […and the resident] placed a bottle of Accucheck strip and alcohol pad on her right knee [while the registered nurse] perform the blood sugar check and with her gloves on the open window blinds.” At that point, the Registered Nurse “removed her gloves and left the room without washing her hands.”
The state investigator conducted an interview with the facility’s Director of Nursing at 10:30 AM the following day on 06/23/2015 who said that “nurses are expected to wash their hands after performing a procedure.” The investigator also noted that the facility’s October 2011 policy titled Hand Hygiene, reads in part:
“Examples of situations when handwashing is indicated: before and after direct resident contact (e.g. care, treatment, etc.)”
A separate observation was made of a different resident on 06/22/2015 at 12:05 PM. While the Registered Nurse providing care to residents was in the medication room, they said “I Berkeley my stethoscope.” The Registered Nurse then “sanitized her stethoscope using bleach wipes. The end of the stethoscope was touching the garbage can.” At that point, the Registered Nurse went into the resident’s “room and administered [the resident’s] feeding medications […and] then took the used irrigation kit and went to the bathroom.”
Upon reaching the bathroom, the registered nurse “drop the irrigation kit container on the bathroom floor […and then] picked up the irrigation tray from the bathroom floor, placed it on the top of the sink and placed the used tube feeding syringe inside the contaminated irrigation kit.” The registered nurse “said these or changed every morning at 9:00 AM.” At 10:45 PM, the facility’s Director of Nursing said the Registered Nurse “could have just easily replaced the irrigation kit. They are disposable.”
An 11:00 AM 06/24/2015 interview with the facility’s Director of Nursing, the Director stated “I do not analyze data and track employee illness to prohibit employees with communicable diseases from direct resident contact.” The Director “was unable to explain how surveillance information is used to prevent and improve the spread of infection within the facility […and] had no specifics on when an employee needs a doctor’s statement to return to work.” The investigator noted that the actions of the nursing staff and Director of Nursing failed to follow the facility’s June 2014 policy titled: Infection Control Policy that reads in part:
“The main purpose of infection control policies and procedures is to establish guidelines to follow in the prevention and control contagious, infections, or communicable diseases.”
DeKalb Illinois Nursing Home Abuse Lawyers
If your loved one has been injured or died prematurely due to abuse or neglect while residing in any Illinois nursing facility, including Oak Crest, Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers LLC can help. Our DeKalb County elder abuse attorneys can investigate your claim for compensation and assist you in negotiating an out-of-court settlement or winning your case at trial.
Contact our DeKalb Illinois nursing home abuse law firm today at (888) 424-5757 for a free case evaluation. No upfront fees are required because we accept all personal injury cases on contingency.
http://www.oakcrestdekalb.org/
