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The use of physical restraints on Illinois nursing home patients is strictly prohibited without proper authorization and interventions designed to reduce or eliminate their use over time. Unfortunately, not all nursing staff follow these procedures and protocols and instead choose to restrain the resident as a means of control to minimize the level of supervision and monitoring by employees. These actions are often detrimental to the health and well-being of the resident. Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers LLC represent abused and injured residents of Illinois nursing facilities like Good Samaritan Flanagan to ensure their rights are protected.
Good Samaritan Flanagan
This facility is a ‘for profit’ 60-certified-bed Medicaid/Medicare-approved Center providing nursing services to residents of Flanagan and Livingston County, Illinois. The Nursing Home is located at:
205 North Adams
Flanagan, Il 61740
(815) 796-2288
Flanagan Nursing Home Resident Safety Concerns
The state of Illinois and the federal government nursing home regulatory agencies regularly update the national nursing facility database system. The Medicare.gov information contains a historical list of filed complaints, safety concerns, health violations and opened investigations of every facility in the United States.
Currently, Good Samaritan Flanagan maintains an overall two out of five available star rating in the nationwide Medicare comparison analysis system. This includes five out of five stars for staffing concerns, two out of five stars for quality measures and one out of five stars for health inspections. The Livingston County nursing home neglect attorneys at Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers LLC have found deficiencies, violations, and safety concerns at this facility including:
- Failure to Ensure Residents Are Free from Unauthorized Physical Restraint
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated 07/21/2016, a notation was made during an annual survey involving the facility's failure to "operationalize the physical restraint policy… Specifically, the facility failed to demonstrate the medical necessity for ongoing use of a physical restraint.” Investigator also noted the facility’s failure “to develop and implement a Plan of Care to assure physical restraint reduction, [and a failure to] ensure that the physical restraint was removed when indicated.”
The resident’s 06/02/2014 Physical Restraint Initial Evaluation Report documents the cognitively impaired resident’s “behavior prompting restraint use … as unsteady gait, forgetting ambulation device, frequent falls, sliding out of the wheelchair, and attempts to self-transfer.” It also documents to remove the self-releasing belt “ten minutes every two hours and as needed.”
The state investigator noted that the resident’s 06/23/2015 Restraint Care Plan does not document “interventions to provide [the resident] with the opportunity for motion and exercise [...and] does not include the measures taken to systematically reduce or eliminate the need for restraint use.”
The state investigator noted that the actions of the nursing staff and Administrator failed to follow the facility’s 04/15/2011 Use of Physical Restraint Policy that reads in part:
“Physical restraints are defined as any manual method or physical or mechanical device, material or equipment attached or adjacent to the resident’s body that the individual cannot remove easily, which restricts freedom of movement and restricts normal access to one’s body.”
“Restrained residents must be repositioned at least every two hours on all shifts… Care Plan shall also include the measures taken to systematically reduce or eliminate the need for physical restraint.”
- Failure to Maintain a Resident’s Dignity and Rights of Individuality
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated 07/21/2016, a notation was made by a state investigator concerning the facility's failure to position a resident “in the dining room to promote dignity.” The failure involved a resident diagnosed with Dementia with Behaviors, Anxiety, and Depression who is dependent on total assistance for all ADL (activities of daily living) including eating.
An observation was made of a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) with the resident on 07/19/2016 positioning the resident “with the backside of the wheelchair toward the table facing from [the resident’s] table at each meal daily to be able to feed her more easily.” The CNA “did not believe the facility has tried to moved [the resident] to accommodate [the resident’s] positioning needs.
The state investigator interviewed the facility Assistant Director of Nursing on the morning of 07/20/2016 who stated: “I do think it is a dignity issue.”
- Failure to Notify Resident’s Physician and Family Members of an Allegation of Abuse and an Injury of Unknown Origin
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated 04/07/2016, the state investigator noted the facility’s failure “to notify the family and physician of an abuse allegation and a bruise of unknown origin.”
An observation was made of a resident on the morning of 04/06/2016 with “a dark purple bruise to the right wrist and backside of the right hand.” The resident “was not able to state what happened to cause the bruising or how [the resident] was treated by staff at the facility.” The Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) providing the resident care stated: “there is nothing documented as to what happened or when they were noticed.”
Flanagan Illinois Nursing Home Abuse Lawyers
If you suspect your loved one has suffered harm through abuse, neglect or mistreatment while a patient at Good Samaritan Flanagan, call the Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers LLC law offices. Our Flanagan nursing home attorneys have successfully resolved many financial compensation claims for victims of abuse, mistreatment, and neglect in Illinois nursing facilities.
We urge you to contact our Livingston County elder abuse law office today at (888) 424-5757 to schedule your free, no obligation comprehensive case review. No upfront fees are necessary because our law firm accepts every personal injury case, wrongful death lawsuit, and nursing home abuse/neglect claim for compensation through a contingency fee agreement.
Sources:
http://bit.do/RILnursing-Good-Samaritan-Flanagan
http://www.idph.state.il.us/ltc/docs/SurveyResult/6003677FIA07212016.PDF
http://www.idph.state.il.us/ltc/docs/SurveyResult/6003677FA04072016.PDF
