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The use of antipsychotic medications on Illinois nursing home residents has been drastically restricted in accordance with federal and state regulations. Before a patient can be prescribed psychotropics, a comprehensive evaluation and a list of alternative interventions must be documented in the resident’s Care Plan to minimize or eliminate the use the antipsychotic medication as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, not every nursing facility follows procedures and protocols and uses antipsychotic medication to control residents for reasons other than patient behavior, such as minimizing the level of supervision and monitoring to ensure patient safety. Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers have provided legal representation Illinois nursing home residents who have received unauthorized psychotropic medications while residing at skilled nursing homes like Hillview Healthcare Center.
Recently, the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) release warnings on the use of antipsychotic medications on the elderly suffering with dementia. Even with known warnings of the dangerous effects of the medication, the use of the drugs in nursing facilities continues to rise. A report by the Department of Health and Human Services revealed that more than 80% of nursing home patients receive antipsychotic drugs without any approved diagnoses that warrant its use.
Hillview Healthcare Center
This facility is a 58-certified-bed ‘not-for-profit’ Nursing Home providing cares and services to residents of Vienna and Johnson County, Illinois. The Medicaid/Medicare-approved Center is located at:
512 North 11th Street
Vienna, IL 62995
(618) 658-2951
The facility provides recreational therapy services along with skilled nursing care, neurological rehabilitation, geriatric rehab, prosthetic training, lymphedema therapy and joint replacement rehab.
Vienna Nursing Home Resident Safety Concerns
To be fully informed on the level of care nursing homes provide, families routinely research the Medicare.gov database system for a complete list of opened investigations, safety concerns, filed complaints and health violations. This information provides valuable content to make a well-informed decision of where to place a loved one who requires a high level of health care and hygiene assistance.
Currently, Hillview Healthcare Center maintains an overall four out of five available star rating in the Medicare national comparison analysis rating system. This includes four out of five stars for health inspections, three out of five stars for quality measures and two out of five stars for staffing concerns. The Johnson County nursing home neglect attorneys at Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers have located serious safety concerns, violations and deficiencies at this nursing facility that include:
- Failure to Provide Perineal Care According to Nursing Standards of Practice to Eliminate a Potential of Infection
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated 09/11/2015, a notation was made by a state investigator during an annual licensure and certification survey concerning the facility's failure to "provide perineal care using proper technique.”
An observation was made of the Certified Nursing Aide (CNA) on the morning of 09/09/2015 “providing perineal care to [the resident] following a bowel movement. The CNA provided this care by cleaning with a pre-moistened wipe using upward strokes in a back to front direction.” Investigator noted that the actions by the Certified Nursing Assistant failed to follow the facility’s revised 07/18/2014 policy titled: Perineal Care that reads in part:
“… Using washcloth/wipe clean from front to back using downward strokes.”
- Failure to Ensure a Resident’s Medication Regimen Is Free of Unnecessary Drugs
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated 09/11/2015, the state investigator noted the facility’s failure to “provide behavior monitoring and intervention as required for the use of antipsychotic medication.” The deficient practice by the nursing staff involved a resident “reviewed for psychotropic medications.”
The deficient practice involved a resident diagnosed with dementia with behaviors receiving antipsychotic medications in accordance with their September 2015 Physician Order Sheet (POS). The resident’s August 2015 Behavior Tracking list the target behavior due to “attempts to leave the facility unattended.” The staff must intervene using “wandering device (elopement alerting device) in place; redirect with the resident’s activity; encourage family visits.”
The state investigator noted after reviewing the resident’s behavior committee notes that no behaviors were noted on 11 days between 03/18/2015 and 06/17/2015. A part of the investigation included an interview with the facility Director of Nurses on the afternoon of 09/10/2015 who “acknowledged during interview that attempting to leave the facility was not a behavior justifying the use of antipsychotic medication and stated that the facility had no additional behavior documentation, intervention or plan in place for [the resident]” which is in violation of state and federal nursing home regulations.
Vienna Illinois Nursing Home Abuse Lawyers
If your loved one was the victim of abuse, mistreatment or neglect while a patient at Hillview Healthcare Center, contact the Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers law firm now. Our Vienna nursing home attorneys have successfully resolved many financial compensation claims for victims of abuse, mistreatment, and neglect in Illinois nursing facilities.
We encourage you to contact our Johnson County elder abuse law offices by calling (888) 424-5757 today to schedule your free, comprehensive case evaluation. You are not required to pay any upfront fees or retainers because we accept all nursing home abuse/neglect cases through contingency fee arrangements. This means payment for our legal fees are made only after we have successfully resolved your case in a jury trial or negotiated an out of court settlement on your behalf.
Sources:
http://www.lacrossecounty.org/hillview/
http://bit.do/RILnursing-Hillview-Healthcare-Center
http://www.idph.state.il.us/ltc/docs/SurveyResult/6004485FIK09112015.PDF
