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Heritage Health Therapy & Senior Care
Before any Illinois nursing home patient can be prescribed an antipsychotic medication, there must be a physician’s orders and a signed informed consent by the patient or their responsible party/Power of Attorney (POA). Without authorization, the use of antipsychotic drugs is strictly prohibited because it can diminish the resident’s quality of life and strips away the patient’s rights. Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers LLC has provided legal representation to injured residents of Illinois skilled nursing homes like Heritage Health – Litchfield who were given antipsychotic medications for controlling their behaviors as a way to minimize staff monitoring or supervision.
Heritage Health – Litchfield
This Nursing Home is a 102-certified-bed ‘for-profit’ Medicaid/Medicare-approved Center providing nursing services to residents of Litchfield and Montgomery County, Illinois. The facility is located at:
628 South Illinois Street
Litchfield, IL 62056
(217) 324-2153
The nursing home provides short- and long-term skilled nursing care along with respite care and hospice care. Additional services include Restore-to-Home options, respiratory therapy, and speech, physical and occupational therapies.
Litchfield Nursing Home Resident Safety Concerns
Comprehensive research results can be obtained through the federal government/Illinois Medicare.gov nursing home database detailing every health violation, filed complaint, safety concern and opened investigation. Many families use this data to determine the level of medical, health and hygiene care nursing homes in their community provide their residents.
Currently, Heritage Health – Litchfield maintains an overall four out of five available star rating in the Medicare national comparison rating system. This includes five out of five stars for quality measures, four out of five stars for health inspections and one out of five stars for staffing concerns. The Montgomery County nursing home neglect attorneys at Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers LLC have found deficiencies, violations and safety concerns at this nursing home including:
- Failure to Ensure That Residents Drug Regimens Are Free from Unnecessary Medications
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated 01/15/2016, a state investigator noted a deficient practice concerning the facility's failure to "ensure antipsychotic medication was justified for resident use.” The deficient practice was first noted in the state investigator’s findings after an observation was made of a resident between 10:00 AM and 1:00 PM on 01/14/2016 “based on 15 minute or less observation intervals, [the resident] exhibited no outward psychotic behaviors or hallucinations.”
The investigator reviewed the resident’s 12/31/2015 and 01/11/2016 MDS (Minimum Data Set) documenting that the resident “has no behaviors.” In addition, the resident’s 01/15/2016 Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act Initial Screen revealed that the resident “has no developmental disability or mental illness.”
According to the resident’s July 2015 Physician Order Sheet (POS), the resident “was readmitted on 01/05/2016 with a diagnosis of MDD (Major Depressive Disorder).” The physician prescribed Seroquel, an antipsychotic medication at 12.5 milligrams taken at bedtime and 50 milligrams of Zoloft to treat the Major Depressive disorder.” The investigator noted that the resident’s medical records “lack any documentation for behavior tracking.”
An interview was conducted with the facility’ is Social Services Director on the morning of 01/15/2016 who stated that the resident “came back from the hospital on the circle on 01/05/2016 [...and] was not on it when he was here [between] 12/20/2015 through 12/31/2015. We did not track [the resident’s] behavior because [the resident] had no behaviors.”
- Failure to Ensure Residents Remain Free from Unauthorized Physical Restraints
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated 12/12/2013, the state investigator noted the facility’s failure “to thoroughly assess and document the risk versus benefits and medical symptoms justifying the use of side rails for [multiple residents] reviewed for side rails.”
The state investigator reviewed a resident’s medical records and MDS (Minimum Data Set) that revealed the resident was unable to be cognitively evaluated “due to [the resident’s] vegetative state.” In addition, the resident’s “functional range of motion is severely impaired on all extremities” and the resident “is totally dependent on staff for ADL (activities of daily living) and care.”
An extensive review of the resident’s Care Plan failed to reveal any address or mention of “the use of side rails at all.” However, an observation was made of the resident between 11:10 AM and 2:40 PM on 12/09/2013 where the “full metal side rails were observed bilaterally and a raised position while [the resident] was in bed.” Additional observations were made between 8:20 AM and 10:05 AM on 12/10/2014 and again at 9:00 AM on 12/12/2013 where the “full metal side rails were observed bilaterally in the raised position while [the resident] was in bed.”
The state investigator noted that even though the facility’s 11/19/2013 Side Rail Assessment documents the medical diagnosis pertinent to the use of side rails including Persistent Vegetative State, “the side rail assessment does not identify the risks for the use of [the resident’s] side rails.”
Litchfield Illinois Nursing Home Abuse Lawyers
If your family believes your loved one suffered was restrained without legal authorization while residing at Heritage Health – Litchfield, contact Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers LLC now. Our qualified Litchfield reputable attorneys represent victims with cases that involve abuse, negligence, and mistreatment occurring in Illinois nursing facilities.
We urge you to contact our Montgomery County elder abuse law office today at (888) 424-5757 to schedule your free, no obligation full 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.heritageofcare.com/litchfield.html
http://bit.do/RILnursing-Heritage-Health-Litchfield
http://www.idph.state.il.us/ltc/docs/SurveyResult/6000699FIK01152016.PDF
