South Suburban Rehab Center

Nursing home neglect and abuse can have devastating effects on residents. Physical abuse can cause bruises, cuts, and other injuries. Negligence can lead to malnutrition, dehydration, and other health problems.

Both abuse and neglect can leave residents feeling frightened, helpless, and alone. These feelings can lead to depression and anxiety, further impacting the resident's health. In extreme cases, nursing home neglect and mistreatment can even lead to death.

Were you abused or neglected while residing at South Suburban Rehab Center? The personal injury attorneys at Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers, LLC can help. Let our attorneys file a compensation claim to ensure your family receives the financial compensation they deserve.

Contact our nursing home abuse lawyers in Illinois at (888) 424-5757 (toll-free phone number) or use the contact form to schedule a free consultation. All confidential or sensitive information you share with our legal team remains private through an attorney-client relationship.

South Suburban Rehabilitation Center

This facility is a 259-certified bed Medicare and Medicaid-approved for-profit nursing facility (not a continuing care retirement community) providing care and services to Cook County residents. South Suburban Rehab is located at:

19000 S Halsted St.
Homewood, IL 60430
(708) 957-9200
Website: http://www.southsuburbannursing.com/

South Suburban Rehab provides care, services, and amenities, including:

• 24-hour nursing staff
• Dental services
• Optometry services
• In-house dialysis
• Hearing services
• IV therapy
• Laboratory, portable X-ray
• Long-term care
• Pain management
• Palliative care
• Physical, occupational, and speech therapy
• Podiatry services
• Post-surgical care
• Rehabilitation
• Respiratory care
• Behavioral health care
• Secure memory care unit
• Short-term care
• Short-term rehab
• Skilled nursing care
• Therapy services
• Wound care

South Suburban Rehab Nursing Home Resident Safety Concerns

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) provides updated information on all nursing homes throughout the United States, including South Suburban Rehab Center. The health inspection quality measures data that includes all documented violations, inspections, formal complaints, and penalties that determine an overall rating.

Families often use valuable Medicaid services information when choosing the best nearby nursing homes in the community, ensuring their loved one receives the quality care they deserve.

Suburban Rehabilitation Center currently maintains one out of five stars overall rating in the Medicare system. The average nursing home rating for this facility also includes:

• One out of five stars for health inspections
• One out of five stars for staffing issues
• Two out of five stars for quality measures

The Cook County personal injury attorneys at Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers, LLC have reviewed dozens of documents on inspections and investigations concerning South Suburban Rehab Center and found severe concerns, including:

Failure to Timely Report Suspected Abuse, Neglect, or Theft and Report the Investigation Results to Proper Authorities. – Deficiency #/F0609

In a summary statement of deficiencies dated November 4, 2021, the state inspectors determined that the Suburban Rehabilitation Center failed to "follow their policy and procedures on abuse by not reporting an allegation of injury of unknown origin. This failure applies to one resident."

The state investigators interviewed the resident's family member, who stated that "she reported to bruise she observed on [their family member] an injury that wasn't there before." The family member noted that no one has followed up with her regarding how she acquired it.

The family member stated that the resident could not explain how she was injured. A nursing home must provide safe and appropriate care to all residents and prevent abuse.

Failure to Provide Appropriate Pressure Ulcer Care and Prevent New Ulcers from Developing – Deficiency #F0686

In a summary statement of deficiencies dated November 4, 2021, the state inspectors determined that South Suburban Rehab Center failed to "ensure a proper functioning pressure reducing mattress for two residents."

The investigators observed one resident asleep on a pressure-reducing mattress as ordered. However, the mattress was covered with the fitted sheet. A disposable underpad was placed underneath the lower and upper back, making the mattress inefficient at guarding the skin against degrading a pressure wound.

Between September 23, 2021, and November 4, 2021, the resident stage III pressure ulcer had grown significantly larger by nearly 2 cm in width, becoming a major injury.

Failure to Ensure the Nursing Home Areas Are Free from Accident Hazards and Lack of Adequate Supervision to Prevent Accidents – Deficiency #F0689

In a summary statement of deficiencies dated November 4, 2021, the state inspectors determined that South Suburban Rehab Center failed to provide a resident with a risk of falling while walking with the necessary assistive device so that the resident could ambulate safely around the property.

The investigation involved a female resident diagnosed with a history of Alzheimer's disease, unsteadiness on feet, cerebral aneurysm (non-ruptured), and other abnormalities of gait and mobility.

The resident's family member said their loved one walks with a cane. However, during a visit to the facility, the family member observed the resident ambulating without a cane. The family member told the nursing staff that the resident was walking too quickly, especially without her cane.

An interview with the facility Director of Nursing stated that the licensed practical nurse (LPN/restorative nurse) reported that the resident "did not use a cane and ambulated on her own." The LPN said that the resident has never had a cane "since she was admitted to the facility."

Failure to Provide and Implement an Infection Prevention and Control Program – Deficiency #F0880

In a summary statement of deficiencies dated November 4, 2021, the state inspectors determined that South Suburban Rehabilitation Center failed to "follow its policy related to the use of personal protective equipment (PPE), handwashing or hand hygiene while administering medication."

The state investigator observed a registered nurse and a resident's room without wearing complete personal protective equipment while the resident was in contact isolation.

Preventing Slips and Falls in the Long-Term Care Setting

Slips and falls are the leading cause of emergency room visits for seniors. One in four people over 65 will experience a fall each year, which is the leading cause of fractures, hospitalizations, and injury deaths in this population.

Although most falls are preventable, nurses who fail to provide help based on acceptable professional principles could lead to patients falling. These failures might include:

• Lack of supervision: Many nursing home residents require ongoing oversight to ensure they don't fall. When nurses are not attentive, residents can slip and fall.
• Not following safety protocols: Nursing home staff are responsible for following safety protocols, such as ensuring that residents wear appropriate footwear. When these protocols are not followed, residents can easily slip and fall.
• Inattentiveness: Nurses who are not paying attention can easily miss when a resident begins to slip or fall, which could lead to severe injuries for the resident.
• Not enough staff: Caregiving homes are often understaffed, leading to nurses being overworked and stressed, which causes professional standards to be less than adequate, and can lead to inattentiveness and poor judgment, both of which can cause residents to slip and fall.
• Lack of training: Nursing home staff are often not adequately trained to safely care for residents, which can lead to accidents, such as slipping and falling.
• Poor communication between nursing home staff can lead to confusion about who is responsible for specific tasks or who is responsible for supervising which resident.
• Fatigue: Fatigued nurses are more likely to make mistakes, such as not paying attention to their surroundings and missing when a resident is at risk of slipping and falling.
• Unsafe environment: Frequently, this is due to a lack of staff oversight and low professional standards when keeping the settings clean and clutter-free.
• Limited mobility: Nursing home residents with limited mobility are at a higher risk for slipping and falling. These residents need assistance from the staff.
• Unbalanced weight: Nursing home residents who are unstable due to their weight are also at a higher risk for slipping and falling and need to be closely monitored by the nursing home staff.
• Medical conditions: Some medical conditions can put nursing home residents at a higher risk for slipping and falling.

Implement Policies to Prevent Slips and Falls

Nursing facilities can implement policies to prevent slips and falls while meeting all the residents' needs.

For example, all care facilities should have a no-tolerance policy for wet floors. It means that any time a floor is wet, someone must be assigned to clean it up immediately. In addition, all spills should be cleaned up at once.

Currently, Accepted Professional Principles Don't Allow Unauthorized Use of Restraints

In recent years, physical restraints and sedating medications in nursing centers have been scrutinized. It is now understood that these measures cannot be used to subdue patients without expressed written consent of the patient or the person in charge of their senior care.

Nursing home residents have often been restrained or drugged without their knowledge or consent. Any use of unauthorized physical or chemical restraints is an evident abusive power and a violation of the rights of these vulnerable patients.

Instead, the nursing home must provide necessary behavioral health care and services to every resident in need, based on established protocols by an ordering practitioner. The doctor must ensure the drug used is considered satisfactory and oversee caregivers to ensure they file the complete care plan. These professionals should also provide timely notification to the resident or their representatives to get their authorization.

Nursing home residents should be treated with dignity and respect and not subjected to physical restraints or sedating medications without their knowledge or consent.

If you know any residents affected by inappropriate medical treatment and substandard care, you must contact a personal injury attorney from our law firm.

The Importance of Proper Drug Management in Nursing Homes

Nursing homes must be extremely careful with storing and dispensing controlled medicines.

According to state and federal regulations, the nursing home has to ensure drugs are kept in separately locked compartments that only limited staff can access. Such a policy helps ensure that the drugs are not abused or mishandled. Nursing homes that fail to comply with these regulations can face severe penalties.

Adverse medication reactions are widespread and frequently avoidable among nursing home residents. Most often, mistakes related to avoidable drug-related injuries happen during pharmacotherapy's ordering and monitoring phases.

Residents taking drugs from various drug classes, such as antipsychotics, anticoagulants, diuretics, and antiepileptics, were more at risk for avoidable adverse drug events.

What are Controlled Drugs?

Controlled drugs have the potential for addiction and may be dangerous if used without medical supervision. Federal and state governments regulate the storage and distribution of these drugs and who has access to them.

Nursing home centers must follow these regulations and keep the controlled medication in locked compartments. You don't want the wrong people gaining access to this strong and harmful medication.

There are two main control drugs: prescription and over-the-counter (OTC) drugs. Prescription drugs can only be obtained with a doctor's note, while OTC drugs are available without a prescription. Both drugs can be abused and cause harm if not used as directed.

The DEA (Drug Enforcement Agency) requires nursing homes to store controlled substances in a locked compartment only accessible by authorized staff members. The exact specifications for this compartment vary depending on the type of drug being stored. The nursing home must follow the precise directions to be considered satisfactory.

Nursing centers must keep track of all controlled substances that come into their facility and any medication errors that occur. These records must be kept for at least two years and readily accessible by authorized personnel. It is one form to prevent abuse by residents or personnel.

The Importance of an Infection Prevention Control Program

Nursing home residents affected by some form of disability, or the elderly, are some of the most vulnerable populations involving outbreaks of infectious diseases. Because of that, care homes must have an infection prevention and control program (IPC) to protect residents from bacteria, viruses, and fungi.

IPC programs are vital because they help reduce infections in nursing care homes. By reducing the number of diseases, a nursing home can improve the quality of care for residents and reduce the risk of mortality.

An excellent IPC program should be proactive and comprehensive, encompassing everything from hand-washing protocols to procuring food from approved sources and staff training on infection control best practices.

An IPC program is a set of policies and procedures designed to reduce the spread of infections in a health care setting. A good-quality nursing home must have an IPC program in place.

When creating preventative methods and policies, it is crucial to take into account the unique challenges the long-term care setting has for preventing the transmission of infectious agents:

• Some people are active and may regularly interact with other residents; as a result, incontinence or poor hand hygiene are widespread and challenging to manage.
• The nursing home is considered the resident's home.
• Sources approved meals or other activities, and residents usually gather together.
• Hospitalization of residents may result in the development or spread of antibiotic-resistant microorganisms.

There are both long-term residents and those who are at the center temporarily for skilled care (rehabilitation) before returning to their previous living arrangement. The risks of infection and the rates of resistance to microbial carriage may vary between these populations.

Infection prevention and control is an integrated, responsive approach that applies to all programs, services, and settings in the company, regardless of the kind of facility. To create, implement, and assess it, the nursing home must work together and notify the responsible authorities promptly if an infection is spreading.

A nursing home that fails to implement an IPC program puts its residents at serious risk of contracting a life-threatening infection.

Hire Personal Injury Lawyers to Receive Financial Compensation from All Responsible Parties

Was your beloved family member neglected and abused while residing in South Suburban Rehab or any other nursing home in Illinois? The nursing home neglect attorneys at Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers can help.

Contact us at (888) 424-5757 (toll-free phone number) or use the contact form to schedule a free consultation. All confidential or sensitive information you share with our legal team remains private through an attorney-client relationship.

Our personal injury attorneys accept all nursing home neglect cases and wrongful death lawsuits on a contingency fee agreement. This arrangement ensures you will pay no upfront fees until your legal team resolves your case through a negotiated settlement or jury award.

Resources:

• Healthcare Providers Violations: | Medicare
• Nursing Home Facilities | CMS