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Many Illinois nursing home residents require the highest level of care to ensure their health and well-being is maintained. Unfortunately, many facilities fail to develop effective plans of care, which is often at the detriment of the resident’s health. Sadly, the Mendota elder abuse attorneys at Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers have represented many residents who have suffered serious injury or died prematurely due to the negligent actions of the nursing staff in their failure to follow established protocols when providing care.
Heritage Health Mendota
Heritage Health Mendota is a 99-certified-bed ‘for profit’ Medicare/Medicaid-approved facility providing nursing services to residents of Mendota and LaSalle County, Illinois. The Center is located at:
1201 First Avenue
Mendota, IL 61342
(815) 539-6745
In addition to providing skilled nursing care, Heritage Health Mendota also offers respiratory, occupational, speech and physical therapies, hospice services, respite care, and electrical stimulation for strengthening.
Mendota Nursing Home Resident Safety Concerns
Many families search the national Medicare comparative analysis star rating summary system to determine which nursing facilities in the community provide the highest level of care. Both the state of Illinois and the federal government regularly update their database system to reflect the complete history of health violations, safety concerns, opened investigations and filed complaints on every facility in the United States. The search results can be found on numerous websites including Medicare.gov.
Currently, Heritage Health Mendota maintains an overall four out of five available star rating compared to all other facilities nationwide. This includes four out of five stars for both health inspections and staffing issues and three out of five stars for quality measures. However, our Mendota nursing home neglect attorneys of found numerous deficiencies and safety concerns involving this facility that include:
- Failure to Develop a Comprehensive Care Plan Involving Swallowing Strategies to Increase Safety for One Resident
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated 06/21/2016, a notation was made during an annual licensure and certification survey by a state investigator concerning the facility's failure to "develop a care plan for safe swallowing strategies.” The deficient practice by the nursing staff at Heritage Health Mendota affected one resident.
The state investigator reviewed a resident’s April 2016 Order Summary Report indicating that the resident was admitted to the facility with “Parkinson’s disease, dementia, major depressive disorder, diabetes mellitus and anxiety disorder.” Physician’s orders were part of the record that included “speech therapy for swallowing treatment, diet texture and analysis, and development of compensatory techniques.”
A review was also conducted on the resident’s 04/22/2015 Speech Therapy Evaluation and Plan of Treatment that included a “Clinical Bedside Assessment of Swallowing.” The assessment revealed that the resident “had very poor control of [their] head and oral area.” The resident “is tremoring and the tongue is bunched and protruding while taking bites/sips. Head had to be stabilized with chin support to straw and bites have to be placed on top of the tongue then let [the resident’s] lips close and remove the bolus…”
The report also indicated that “due to documented physical impairments and associated functional deficits, [the resident] is at risk for tremors and aspiration when food or drink are poured and [the resident] is not ready.”
However, the state investigator noted that the resident’s 04/18/2016 Care Plan documents “offer regular puréed diet. No safe swallowing strategies are documented for staff to follow.” The investigator noted that the actions of the nursing staff failed to follow the facility’s 03/18/2013 Resident Assessment and Care Planning Policy that reads in part:
“The facility must develop a comprehensive Care Plan for each resident that includes measurable objectives and timetables to meet the resident’s medical, nursing and mental and psychosocial needs that are identified in the comprehensive assessment.”
- Failure to Provide Every Resident an Environment Free from Unauthorized Physical Restraints
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated 08/06/2015, the state investigator noted the facility’s failure “to obtain a physician’s order documenting a medical symptom to justify the use of a restraint for [one resident at the facility].”
An observation was made of a resident at 11:15 AM while the resident “was ambulating in the hallway in an enclosed wheeled walker.” Again at 1:00 PM the following day, the resident was observed “sitting in [their] enclosed wheeled walker, and upon request [the resident] was not able to lift the bar from the enclosed wheeled walker to release the device.”
The investigator reviewed the resident’s 08/03/2015 Order Summary Sheet and revealed that the resident has a “history of falls.” The resident’s 07/01/2015 Restraint Consent documents “medical diagnoses for restraint: Alzheimer’s disease, history of falls, (enclosed wheeled walker) promotes independence and ambulation.”
However, the state investigator noted that the facility’s 03/01/2011 Restraint Program Policy and Procedure “does not have any documentation or definition regarding an appropriate diagnosis to support the use of restraint.”
Mendota Illinois Nursing Home Abuse Lawyers
If your loved one has been seriously injured or died prematurely due to the negligent actions of caregivers at any Illinois nursing facility including Heritage Health Mendota, Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers can provide legal assistance. Our Illinois nursing home neglect attorneys can ensure your family receives the financial recompense owed to your loved one for their damages.
Call our LaSalle County elder abuse law firm at (888) 424-5757 today for your free, no-obligation case consultation. No upfront fees are required.
http://www.heritageofcare.com/mendota
http://www.idph.state.il.us/ltc/docs/SurveyResult/6004253FA06212016.PDF
http://www.idph.state.il.us/ltc/docs/SurveyResult/6004253FIK08062015.PDF
