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Families often place their loved one in a nursing facility to ensure they receive the highest level of care. So, it is often alarming when events that claim the life of the resident could have been prevented had the staff received appropriate training and the facility was properly furnished with life-saving equipment. Unfortunately, the South Holland elder abuse attorneys at Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers have handled many cases where the resident was a victim of a wrongful death due to the negligent actions of the nursing staff, facility and Administrator.
The Villa at South Holland is a for-profit, 171-certified bed Medicare/Medicaid-approved nursing home providing services to residents of South Holland and Cook County, Illinois. The facility is located at:
16300 Wausau Street
South Holland, Illinois 60473
(708) 596-5500
In addition to providing medically complex and post-surgical nursing care, The Villa at South Holland also offers:
- Cardiac care
- Orthopedic care
- Wound care
- Respiratory/pulmonary care
- Movement disorder/stroke recovery care
- Memory/Alzheimer’s disease care
- Palliative and hospice care
Many families look at nursing home online information before placing their loved one in the facility to ensure they receive a high level of hygiene and health care. Because of that, the state of Illinois and the federal government routinely update their nursing home databases to reflect the entire history of all health violations, safety concerns, opened investigations and filed complaints on facilities nationwide. The information can be located on numerous sites including Medicare.gov.
Currently, The Villa at South Holland maintains an overall two out of five available star rating in the Medicare star rating summary comparative analysis system. This includes five out of five stars for quality measures, four out of five stars for staffing issues and one out of five stars for health inspections. Our South Holland nursing home neglect attorneys have located numerous safety concerns and investigations involving this facility that caused actual harm that include:
- Failure to Provide Necessary Care and Services to Perform CPR (Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation) When a Resident Required It
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated 03/16/2016, a complaint investigation against the facility was opened for its failure to "immediately start chest compression on an unresponsive resident.” The investigator also noted the facility’s:
- Failure “to place a low air loss mattress in the proper setting for cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR)”;
- Failure “to have needed supplies and the emergence card for suctioning”;
- Failure “to deliver oxygen at a level that is most beneficial to a resident during cardiopulmonary resuscitation” (CPR).
The state investigator noted that Immediate Jeopardy was identified when “staff members failed to initiate CPR immediately per the American Park Association Guidelines as indicated per the facility’s policy and have equipment available for use during emergency procedures.” The investigator noted that the facility’s Administrator was informed of the Immediate Jeopardy that was removed after specific actions were taken. However, “while it was determined that the immediacy was removed, the facility remains out of compliance at a Severity Level II. The facility needs to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of the facility’s staff education and revised policies and procedures.”
As a part of the investigation, it was noted that the timed events of a resident requiring CPR “showed a delay of five minutes (12:55 PM – 1:00 PM) to start chest compressions in four minutes (1:00 PM – 1:04 PM) of providing chest compressions with questionable effectiveness due to a lack of a cardiac board and special mattress which was not in CPR mode, and failing to maintain a clear and patent airway (during CPR) due to a malfunctioning suction machine and providing inadequate oxygen via resuscitator bag, in the process.”
The event occurred in the presence of the state surveyor when making rounds with the facility’s Director of Nursing. The surveyor “noticed that “the resident] did not appear to be breathing [...and asked the Director to assess the resident when] it was discovered that [the resident] was not breathing and had no pulse.” At that time, the Director of Nursing “step outside of [a resident’s] room and called out for help. Afterwards [the Director] returned to [the resident’s room but did not provide [the resident] with any chest compressions or rescue breaths. It was five minutes before CPR was initiated, when [a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) arrived at [the resident’s] bedside.”
Even though Licensed Practical Nurse had arrived, “the backboard was not placed underneath [the resident’s and the resident’s] low air loss mattress was not placed in CPR mode until after CPR was initiated. The head of the bed was not lowered until after CPR was initiated.” When paramedics arrived they asked for suction “and the facility’s code cart was not stocked with suction supplies.”
If your loved one was seriously harmed or died prematurely due to the negligent actions of the nursing staff or Administrator at any Illinois nursing facility, including The Villa at South Holland, Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers can provide numerous legal options to obtain the financial compensation you deserve. Our Cook County elder abuse attorneys have immediate access to all necessary resources to ensure that every individual and entity responsible for your loved one’s damages are held legally and financially accountable.
We accept all nursing home neglect and abuse cases on contingency, to avoid the need for an upfront payment. contact our South Holland Illinois nursing home abuse law firm at (888) 424-5757 today to speak with one of our attorneys in a free, no-obligation consultation.
http://villaatsouthholland.com/
