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Heritage Health Therapy and Senior Care
The nursing staff at every nursing home in Illinois is required by law to notify a patient’s doctor and Power of Attorney (POA) of any change in their condition including a decline in their health or missed doses of medication when the drug is unavailable. Failure to do so could jeopardize the health and well-being of the patient. Unfortunately, not all nursing homes provide ongoing supervision and monitoring of their nursing staff to ensure they follow the strict guidelines. Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers have represented many injured patients of Illinois nursing skilled facilities like Heritage Health – Walnut whose health declined because their caregivers failed to administer proper medications or gave them another resident’s medication.
Heritage Health – Walnut
This Nursing Home is a 62-certified-bed Medicaid/Medicare-approved Facility providing nursing services and cares to residents of Walnut and Bureau County, Illinois. The ‘for-profit’ Nursing Center is located at:
308 South Second Street
Walnut, Il 61376
(815) 379-2131
This nursing home provides short- and long-term skilled nursing care, respite care, and hospice care along with Restore Therapy, RESTORE-to-home, Social Services, and occupational/physical/speech therapies.
Walnut Nursing Home Resident Safety Concerns
The Federal government and Illinois nursing home regulatory agencies regularly update their nursing home database system containing the complete list of all safety concerns, health violations, filed complaints and opened investigations. This data can be found on numerous sites including Medicare.gov.
Currently, Heritage Health – Walnut maintains an overall two out of five available star rating in the national Medicare comparison analysis rating summary system. This rating includes three out of five stars for health inspections, two out of five stars for quality measures and one out of five stars for staffing concerns. The Bureau County nursing home neglect attorneys at Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers have found numerous safety concerns and deficiencies at this facility including:
- Failure to Notify a Resident’s Physician and Power of Attorney (POA) of a Change in Their Condition Including a Decline in Their Health or Injury
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated 04/10/2015, a state investigator noted while performing an annual licensure and certification survey that the facility failed to “consult the physician and failed to notify the resident’s legal representative when physician prescribed medications were unavailable for consecutive doses.”
The deficient practice was first noted in the state investigator’s findings after an interview with the Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) at 9:30 AM on 04/08/2015 who stated that the resident’s “last dose of Zenpep [an effective medication that replaces pancreatic enzymes] was Saturday at noon.” The resident “also missed a Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday doses. The medication just came in at midnight last night. Oh, and I called [the resident’s] doctor yesterday afternoon to let him know the resident missed all of these doses.”
The state investigator reviewed the resident’s MAR (Medication Administration Record) and Progress Notes between 04/04/2015 and 04/07/2015 that documents “medication not available.” An interview was conducted with the facility’s Director of Nursing just after noon on 04/09/2015 stated that the staff “should notify the doctor at least the next day after missed doses after calling the pharmacy first.”
An interview was conducted with the resident’s Power of Attorney (POA) / Spouse at 2:45 PM on 04/09/2015 who stated: “I didn’t know that [the resident] didn’t receive six doses of [their medication when needed].”
- Failure to Provide a Standard of Care to Ensure the Resident’s Well-Being Is Maintained
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated 04/10/2015, the state investigator noted the facility’s failure to “recognize and follow up on an elevated blood pressure reading for [a resident].”
The deficient practice was first noted in the state investigator’s findings after a review of a resident’s 04/09/2015 computer-generated weights and vitals summary list that documents of the resident’s “blood pressure on 04/02/2015 was 209/117 while [the resident] was sitting and [their] blood pressure was taken on the right arm.” The investigator noted that the resident’s “weights and vitals summary was reviewed on 01/29/2015 to the last documented entry on 04/02/2015. Notations were made that the resident’s “regular blood pressure is between 124/60 and 141/60.”
The investigator noted that the progress notes do not reveal that the doctor was notified of the resident’s elevated blood pressure readings of 209/117 at 6:52 PM on 04/02/2015. As a part of the investigation, an interview was conducted with the facility Director of Nursing at 12:20 PM on 04/09/2015 who stated that they “would expect staff to notify the doctor of the elevated blood pressure… and would have expected staff to follow up because a blood pressure of 209/117 would be considered a change of condition for [the resident].”
Walnut Illinois Nursing Home Abuse Lawyers
If your loved one is suffering from abuse, neglect or mistreatment as a resident at Heritage Health – Walnut, Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers can help now. Our knowledgeable Walnut qualified attorneys have years of experience in handling cases that involve mistreatment, neglect, and abuse occurring in nursing facilities all throughout Illinois.
We urge you to contact our Bureau County elder abuse law office today at (888) 424-5757 to schedule your free, no obligation comprehensive case review. Our Walnut nursing home attorneys have successfully resolved many financial compensation claims for victims of abuse, mistreatment, and neglect in Illinois nursing facilities.
Sources:
http://www.heritageofcare.com/walnut/
http://bit.do/RILnursing-Heritage-Health-Walnut
http://www.idph.state.il.us/ltc/docs/SurveyResult/6009690FIK04102015.PDF
