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In many incidents, nursing home staff members use physical restraints without authorization believing that have the right to do so to ensure the resident safety and well-being. However, federal and state nursing home laws strictly prohibit the use of restraints without informed consent and a physician’s orders. Sadly, the Jacksonville elder abuse attorneys at Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers have handled many cases where residents were stripped of their rights when their caregivers used physical restraints in lieu of constant monitoring and supervision.
Jacksonville Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation Center
Jacksonville Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation Center is an 88-certified-bed Medicare/Medicaid-approved “for-profit” facility providing nursing services to residents of Jacksonville and Morgan County, Illinois. The Center is located at:
1517 West Walnut St.
Jacksonville, IL 62650
(217) 243-6451
The facility provides post-acute skilled nursing services around-the-clock along with physical, occupational and speech therapies.
Jacksonville Nursing Home Resident Safety Concerns
As a way to ensure that families remain fully aware of the level of care that nursing homes for by the local community, the state of Illinois and the federal government regularly update their nursing home database system. The results can be found on numerous websites online including Medicare.gov.
Currently, Jacksonville Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation Center maintains an overall five out of five available star rating in the national Medicare star rating summary system as compared to all other facilities nationwide. This includes five out of five stars for quality measures, four out of five stars for health inspections and two out of five stars for staffing issues. However, our Jacksonville nursing home neglect attorneys have found serious deficiencies involving this facility that include:
- Failure to Provide Every Resident an Environment Free of Unauthorized Physical Restraints
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated 04/24/2015, a state surveyor made a notation during an annual licensure and certification survey concerning the facility's failure to "assess and document the risks versus benefits, medical symptoms justifying the use of the restraint and have a restraint reduction plan for [the resident].”
The state investigator reviewed the resident’s 03/23/2015 MDS (Minimum Data Set) revealing that the resident “has no restraint.” The resident’s Care Plan of the same date also reveals that the resident “is at risk for falls and has a self-release seat belt for positioning, trunk control and safety.” A review of the resident’s 03/23/2015 Physical Restraint Assessment documents of the resident “does not have any physical restraints.”
On 09/19/2014, the resident’s Incident Report revealed that the resident “was walking with a walker and fell, fracturing her right pelvic bone.” An observation was made at 1:00 PM on 04/23/2015 when the resident “was seated in her wheelchair with an alarm seat belt and use.” At that time, the Registered Nurse (RN) providing care asked the resident “to remove the belt.” The resident responded that “she was unable and stated, ‘I hate that belt. You undo it, I can’t’.”
Ten minutes later the Registered Nurse “stated she had only worked at the facility for about one month and was told by [the facility’s] Director of Nursing that [the resident] was able to remove the seat belt.” At approximately the same time, a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) providing the resident care stated that the resident “used to undo the seat belt but not anymore.”
An interview conducted with the Director of Nurses on the morning of 04/24/2015 revealed that “the facility did not consider [the resident’s] seat belt as a restraint because they did not think it impaired her mobility [...and] stated they did not have an assessment for the seat belt until last night after it was brought to their attention.”
- Failure to Provide Residents Adequate Care to Prevent the Development of a Bedsore or Allow an Existing Bedsore to Heal
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated 04/24/2015, the state investigator noted the facility’s failure “to accurately and timely assess and monitor changes in pressure ulcers” for one resident at the facility. The investigator noted that the failure by the nursing staff at Jacksonville Skilled Nursing and Rehab resulted in [the resident’s] pressure ulcer progressing/worsening from a Stage II to Stage III pressure ulcer.
The investigator noted that upon the resident’s admission to the facility on 03/04/2014 documentation revealed the resident “did not have pressure ulcers but… was at high risk for pressure ulcers.” By 08/17/2014, it was documented that the resident had a facility-acquired pressure ulcer to the coccyx.
The resident’s Care Plan documents that the pressure ulcer was to be assessed weekly. However, by the afternoon of 04/22/2015 the facility’s Wound Nurse stated that when “she took the dressing off it was macerated, and draining [...and] stated she had not seen this one since her last weekly measurement done on 04/17/2015 [...and] she does not do the daily dressings [...and] had not been informed the wound had worsened.”
Jacksonville Illinois Nursing Home Abuse Lawyers
If your loved one has suffered from harm, injury, mistreatment, abuse or neglect while residing at Jacksonville Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, or any other Illinois nursing facility, Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers can help. Our Illinois nursing home abuse attorneys can ensure that your loved one receives the financial compensation they deserve.
Contact our Morgan County elder abuse law firm today by calling (888) 424-5757 to schedule your no-obligation initial free case review. No upfront fees are necessary.
http://www.idph.state.il.us/ltc/docs/SurveyResult/6004840FIK04242015.PDF
http://www.idph.state.il.us/ltc/docs/SurveyResult/6004840FIK04242015.PDF
