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Slipping and falling is one of the leading causes of serious injury to residents in nursing facilities all throughout the state of Illinois. To circumvent the problem, the nursing staff at every facility is required to develop an effective Plan of Care with interventions designed specifically to provide guidance for the staff and resident to follow. Unfortunately, many nursing homes fail to develop an effective Plan of Care or neglect to supervise the nursing staff and residents to ensure that the intervention is useful at preventing falls. Sadly, the Ottawa elder abuse attorneys at Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers LLC have handled many cases where the resident suffered serious injuries or premature death caused by a preventable fall due to the negligent actions of the nursing staff.
Pleasant View Luther Home
Pleasant View Luther Home is a 90-certified-bed “not for profit” Medicare/Medicaid-participating Continuing Care Retirement Community providing nursing services to residents of Ottawa and LaSalle County, Illinois. The Center is located at:
505 College Ave.
Ottawa, IL 61350
(815) 434-1130
In addition to providing skilled nursing care, the facility also offers memory support, assisted living and independent living options along with speech, occupational and physical rehabilitation therapies.
Ottawa Nursing Home Resident Safety Concerns
To ensure the most up-to-date information is available about nursing facilities throughout the United States, both the state of Illinois and the federal government routinely update their nursing home database systems. These databases include a complete history of all safety concerns, health violations, filed complaints and opened investigations on every nursing home in the United States. The updated information can be found on numerous websites including Medicare.gov.
Currently, Pleasant View Luther Home maintains an overall five out of five available star rating in the national Medicare star rating summary system. This includes five out of five stars for quality measures, four out of five stars for staffing issues and three out of five stars for health inspections. However, our Ottawa nursing home neglect attorneys have found numerous deficiencies and safety concerns involving this facility that include:
- Failure to Prevent the Spread of Infection to Ensure Resident Safety
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated 01/29/2016, a state surveyor made a notation during an annual licensure and certification survey concerning the facility's failure to "remove gloves and perform hand hygiene after touching soiled items during incontinence care.” The deficient practice the nursing staff affected one resident at the facility “reviewed for incontinence care.”
The state investigator noted that the facility’s Personal Protective Equipment Policy reads in part:
“Gloves should be removed promptly after use and hands should be washed or sanitized…”
On the morning of 01/27/2016, an observation was made of two Certified Nursing Assistants (CNAs) entering the resident’s “room to perform incontinence care. With clean gloves, [both certified nursing assistants turn the resident to the resident’s] left side and pulled [their] pants down and unfastened [the resident’s] adult incontinence brief.” As a part of the care, when the resident “was turned to their left side “and pants were down, the [resident’s] soiled brief was removed.”
At that time, one of the CNAs “cleanse [the resident posse is reckoned perineal area with disposable wipes [before placing the resident on their] back side [while another Certified Nursing Assistant cleansed the resident’s groins. While still wearing soiled gloves, [the CNA] then place to clean incontinence brief under [the resident], placed on [the resident’s] pants, pulled down [their] shirt, and adjusted the bedpan under [them]. No hand washing or glove changes occurred prior.”
The state investigator interviewed one of the certified nursing assistants that afternoon who stated: “I should have washed my hands and change my gloves before touching the clean items.” As a part of the investigation, the surveyor conducted an interview with the facility’s Director of Nursing in the morning of 07/29/2016 who stated: “it would be an expectation that hand hygiene is performed and gloves or change when going from dirty to clean items.”
- Failure to Provide Every Resident an Environment Free of Accident Hazards and Provide Adequate Supervision to Avoid Injury
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated 12/10/2014, the state investigator noted the facility’s failure “to ensure new fall interventions were implemented after falls for [a resident].” Incident log documents indicating that the resident “fell at the facility on the following dates: 09/01/2014, 11/01/2014, 11/09/2014 and 11/26/2014.”
The state investigator reviewed the resident’s Management Investigation Tool Forms that were dated on 11/09/2014 and 11/26/2014 that revealed a “fall intervention to remind [the resident] use the call light for help.” In an interview with the facility’s Director of Nursing in the afternoon on 12/09/2014, it was “verified the same fall intervention was used for [the resident] on 11/09/2014 and 11/26/2014 and stated ‘we should be trying something new’.”
Ottawa Illinois Nursing Home Abuse Lawyers
If your loved one has been injured, abused, neglected or mistreated while residing at any Illinois nursing facility, including Pleasant View Luther Home, Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers LLC can take immediate legal action on your behalf. Our Ottawa nursing home abuse lawyers can protect your loved one’s rights and ensure your case for financial compensation is successfully resolved.
Contact our LaSalle County elder abuse law firm today by calling (888) 424-5757 for a free, no-obligation case evaluation. We accept all nursing home neglect/abuse cases through contingency fee agreement so no upfront fee or payment is necessary.
http://www.idph.state.il.us/ltc/docs/SurveyResult/6007512FIK01292016.PDF
http://www.idph.state.il.us/ltc/docs/SurveyResult/6007512FI12102014.PDF
