Slipping and falling in nursing home environments tend to account for some the most catastrophic injuries that residents suffer every year. Often times, isolated falling incidents could have been prevented had the staff taken appropriate measures, developed an effective At-Risk Fall Care Plan or provided adequate supervision to ensure the resident’s safety. Unfortunately, the Downers Grove elder abuse attorneys at Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers LLC have represented many residents who have suffered injuries and family members who have lost loved ones caused by the negligent actions of the nursing staff.
Every nursing facility has a legal obligation to ensure that the residents are properly assessed and then develop an effective care plan that maximizes their quality of life. Often times, plans include bed/wheelchair alarms or other safety devices that provide immediate assistance if the resident is attempting to move about without help. Without routinely reassessing the needs and requirements of the resident and modifying their Plan of Care could jeopardize their health and well-being.
Providence Downers Grove
Providence Downers Grove is a 145-certified bed Medicaid/Medicare-participating nonprofit corporate facility providing services to residents of Downers Grove and DuPage County, Illinois. The facility is located at:
3450 Saratoga Avenue
Downers Grove, Illinois 60515
(630) 969-2900
Services offered at Providence Downers Grove include assisted living, respite care, memory care, skilled nursing services, and rehabilitation.
Downers Grove Nursing Home Resident Safety Concerns
To provide families most current information, the state of Illinois and the federal government routinely update their nursing home databases to reflect recently opened investigations, safety concerns, health violations and filed complaints on facilities throughout the United States. The updated information is then posted on various websites including Medicare.gov through their star rating summary system and comparative analysis tools.
Currently, Providence Downers Grove maintains an overall three out of five available star rating compared to other facilities nationwide. This includes four out of five stars for quality measures and staffing issues and two out of five stars for health concerns. Our Downers Grove nursing home neglect attorneys have found numerous complaints and safety concerns involving this facility that include:
- Failure to Ensure Every Resident an Environment Free of Accident Hazards and Risks and Failure to Provide Adequate Supervision to Prevent Avoidable Accidents
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated 02/04/2016, a complaint investigation against the facility was opened for its failure to “identify fall risk factor; develop and implement individualized interventions to address care areas including vision, hearing, incontinence and environmental safety hazards to prevent falls.” The deficient practice by the nursing staff at Providence Downers Grove affected three residents at the facility “reviewed for falls.”
The state investigator noted that during an interview with the facility’s Director of Nursing at 2:30 PM on 02/03/2016 it was revealed that the resident’s admission assessment under fall risks documents of the resident “did not have any falls in the past month, did not have any falls in the past 2-4 months and had no fracture related to falls in the past six months when [the resident] in fact had all of these risk factors. With these risk factors being present, it would make [the resident] to be at fall risk and trigger to further evaluate fall risk factors.”
The Director of Nursing during an interview noted that “those questions were not answered correctly on the admission and therefore [the resident] was not flagged as a fall risk initially [… stating that the nurse that answered those questions] is no longer working at the facility.” The investigator noted that the resident’s 03/11/2015 Care Plan documents that the resident is “hard of hearing, visually impaired and at risk for bleeding due to anticoagulant use […and that the resident] hearing and visual impairment interventions are generalized not specific to [that resident’s] visual and hearing limitations.” The investigator also noted that “there is no care plan related to [the resident] being a high fall risk. There are no interventions related to fall prevention.”
In a separate summary statement of deficiencies dated 02/26/2015, the state investigator noted the facility’s failure “to provide safe staff assist transfer per assessment and facilities protocols to [a resident at the facility] reviewed for falls and/or injuries.” The failure involved the resident who requires “extensive assistance with two staff for transfers, bed mobility, and toileting activities.”
The surveyor noted that the resident’s Transfer Assessment Tool Forms dated 10/15/2015 and 01/14/2016 “include recommended transfer with total mechanical lift with a sling. These assessments state [that the resident] is unable to bear weight on at least one leg […and] is inconsistent and unreliable in motor transferability and the use of a sit-to-stand mechanical lift does not apply.” The investigator noted that the resident’s “current care plan includes fall risk problems and need to transfer resident using a mechanical lift with the assist of two.” Even with these protocols, at approximately 10:00 AM on 02/23/2016 the resident revealed that “last December while being transferred on a sit-to-stand lift, with one nurse aide present, [the resident] had a fall incident.”
Downers Grove Illinois Nursing Home Abuse Lawyers
If your loved one has suffered a serious injury in a slip and fall incident occurring at any Illinois nursing facility including Providence Downers Grove, Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers LLC can take immediate legal action. Our DuPage County elder abuse attorneys have extensive experience in building cases for financial compensation against all parties responsible for causing the resident’s harm.
We urge you to contact our Downers Grove Illinois nursing home abuse law firm today at (888) 424-5757 to schedule a no obligation free consultation to discuss your substantial financial recovery. No upfront fee is required because we accept all nursing home abuse cases on contingency.
http://www.providencelifeservices.com/communities/providencedownersgrove/
