Staff members every Illinois nursing home are required to follow procedures and protocols when providing cares to residents suffering from incontinence. Failure to do so has the potential of exposing the patient to harmful contaminants allowing the development of serious infections. Unfortunately, not all nursing homes adequately train their nursing staff or failed to monitor the nurses to ensure they are following infection-eliminating protocols. The elder abuse attorneys at Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers LLC provide legal advice, counsel, and representation to individuals who have been neglected, mistreated and abused at Illinois nursing facilities like Rock River Gardens.
Rock River Gardens
This Nursing Home is a Medicare/Medicaid-participating ‘for profit’ Center providing services to residents of Sterling and Whiteside County, Illinois. The 70-certified-bed Nursing Facility is located at:
3601 Sixteenth Avenue
Sterling, IL 61081
(815) 626-0233
As a part of the Peterson Health Care System, Rock River Gardens provides Alzheimer’s care, memory care, skilled nursing care and the Peterson Pathways Rehabilitation Program.
Sterling Nursing Home Resident Safety Concerns
Detailed information on each nursing facility in the US can be obtained on state and federal database sites including Medicare.gov. These government-run regulatory agencies routinely update their list of safety concerns, health violations, filed complaints and opened investigations occurring at nursing homes nationwide.
Currently, Rock River Gardens maintains an overall five out of five available star rating in the Medicare national comparison analysis rating system. This includes five out of five stars for both quality measures and health inspections and two out of five stars for staffing concerns. The Whiteside County nursing home neglect attorneys at Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers LLC have located safety concerns and deficiencies at this nursing facility that include:
- Failure to Follow Physician’s Orders when Providing Incontinence Care to a Resident In a summary statement of deficiencies dated 06/19/2014, a notation by a state investigator referred to the facility’s failure to “follow their toileting program for a resident who was incontinent.” The deficient practice was first noted in the state investigator’s findings after reviewing a resident’s June 2014 Physician Order Sheet (POS) reviewing the resident with a diagnosis of neurogenic bladder. The resident’s 04/29/2014 MDS (Minimum Data Set) Assessment revealed that the resident “is occasionally incontinent and is on the toileting program.”The resident was interviewed by the state investigator 9:25 AM on 06/18/2014 and stated that “Sometimes they take me to the bathroom, sometimes they don’t. I have big accidents at night. It’s embarrassing.”
The investigator reviewed the resident’s July 2013 Care Plan that shows the resident “is on the Bowel and Bladder Program and needs to be reminded to use the restroom during the night hours… Staff will wake up [the resident] every two hours during the night hours a remind them to use the bathroom… Staff will document on the bowel and bladder sheet…”
The investigator reviewed the resident’s Bladder and Bowel Program Data Sheets between January 2014 and June 2014 that revealed: “many times the toileting program was not carried out consistently.” The resident “was not woken up every two hours during the night to remind him to use the bathroom.”
An interview was conducted with the facility’s Director of Nursing on the morning of 06/18/2014 who stated that the resident “does not have incontinence. I have counseled staff about taking [the resident] to the bathroom every two hours.” An interview was conducted with the Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) that same morning who provides the resident care. The CNA stated “oh yeah, [the resident] is incontinent at night.”
- Failure to Follow Procedures and Protocols That Eliminate the Spread of Infection In a summary statement of deficiencies dated 06/19/2014, a notation was made by a state investigator involving the nursing home’s failure to “ensure that staff changed their gloves after removing the soiled wound dressing and before applying the clean dressing. The facility also failed to ensure that the staff washes their hands after removing their gloves before providing care for another resident.”One failure was first noted at 8:45 AM on 06/17/2014 when a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) remove the old dressing from an open wound on [the resident’s] left middle finger. Without changing their gloves, [the LPN] proceeded to apply a clean dressing to the area.” In a separate incident in LPN “performed a blood glucose check for [the resident]. When finished [the LPN] removed her gloves, without washing her hands, applied new gloves and proceeded to perform a blood glucose check [on another resident].”
The state investigator noted that the actions of the nursing staff failed to follow the facility’s February 2014 policy titled: Dressing, Dry/Clean that reads in part:
“Pull glove over dressing and discard in the plastic or biohazard bag. Wash and dry hands thoroughly. Put on clean gloves.
Sterling Illinois Nursing Home Abuse Lawyers
If you suspect your loved one was victimized by caregivers, visitors, or other residents while residing at Rock River Gardens, call Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers LLC today. Let our skilled Sterling attorneys file and handle your financial compensation claim against all those who caused your loved one harm. Our years of experience ensures a successful resolution.
We encourage you to contact our Whiteside County area elder abuse law office today by calling (888) 424-5757 to schedule your no-obligation, comprehensive case review. There is no need to make an upfront payment because we accept all nursing home claims for compensation on contingency.
Sources:
http://www.idph.state.il.us/ltc/docs/SurveyResult/6002695FIK06192014.PDF
http://www.idph.state.il.us/ltc/docs/SurveyResult/6002695FIK04212016.PDF
http://www.idph.state.il.us/ltc/docs/SurveyResult/6002695FIK07112013.PDF
http://www.petersenhealthcare.net/rock-river
http://bit.do/RILnursing-Rock-River-Gardens
