Do you suspect that your loved one was mistreated while living in a nursing facility? Were they harmed by caregivers, visitors, employees or other residents through abuse, mistreatment or sexual assault? If so, the Illinois Nursing Home Law Center attorneys can legally intervene immediately. Our Illinois team of lawyers has successfully resolved many nursing home victim cases in LaSalle County and can help your family too.
Our network of attorneys offers free initial consultations to discuss the merits of your case. Contact us today. Let us begin working on your claim for compensation now to ensure your family receives justice and monetary recovery for your loved one’s damages.
If your loved one has been mistreated at Aperion Care, contact our Chicago nursing home negligence attorneys.
This long-term care (LTC) facility is a 103-certified bed "for profit" home providing services and cares to residents of Marseilles and LaSalle County, Illinois. The Medicare and Medicaid-approved center is located at:
578 West Commercial Street
Marseilles, Illinois, 61341
(815) 795-5121
In addition to providing 24/7 skilled nursing care, the facility offers a variety of care options including long-term care solutions, psychiatric rehabilitation, and short-term rehab.
State investigators working on behalf of the federal government, Medicare, and Medicaid have the legal authority to impose monetary fines or deny payment for Medicare services to any nursing facility that has violated. Within the last three years, the government imposed two monetary penalties against Aperion Care Marseilles including a $5005 fine on March 30, 2017, and an $8351 fine on December 13, 2016, for a total of $13,356.
Also, within the last thirty-six months, the facility received sixteen formally filed complaints and self-reported one issue that all resulted in citations. Additional documentation about fines and penalties can be found on the Illinois Department of Public Health Nursing Home Reporting Website concerning this nursing facility.
The federal government and Illinois care home regulatory agencies routinely update their statewide nursing facility database system and post the data on the Medicare.gov and the Illinois Department of Public Health website. The information contains historical details of safety concerns, health violations, opened investigations, filed complaints, dangerous hazards, and incident inquiries of every facility statewide.
According to Medicare, this facility maintains an overall rating of one out of five stars, including one out of five stars concerning health inspections, two out of five stars for staffing issues and three out of five stars for quality measures. The LaSalle County neglect attorneys at Nursing Home Law Center have found serious deficiencies and safety concerns at Aperion Care Marseilles that include:
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated May 18, 2018, the state investigators documented that the facility failed to “follow facility policy for reporting an investigation an allegation of resident-to-resident verbal abuse between two residents.” The investigators reviewed the facility’s policy titled: Abuse Prevention and Reporting – Illinois dated November 28, 2016, that reads in part:
“Initial Reporting of Allegations: When an allegation of abuse, exploitation, neglect, mistreatment or misappropriation of resident property has occurred, the resident’s representative and the Department of Public Health’s Regional Office shall be informed by telephone or fax. Public health shall be informed that an occurrence of potential abuse, neglect, exploitation, mistreatment or misappropriation of resident property has been reported and is being investigated.”
Documentation shows that on May 5, 2018, at 10:05 AM, a resident said that “another resident had recently called [them] a b****.” A review of the resident’s Progress Note dated May 4, 2018 and signed by a Registered Nurse (RN) documents that “another resident reported being grasped by [the resident above and that that resident] admitted to grabbing [this patient’s] arm.” The first reporting resident stated that the patient] was in the hall making fun of [them].”
An interview statement from the facility’s investigation signed by the facility Administrator dated May 11, 2018 documents that one resident at called the other resident “four eyes. They called me that as a kid.” However, the Administrator stated that they had not investigated nor reported the name-calling by one resident toward another resident “as verbal abuse.”
The Administrator said that “it was completed as one physical abuse incident [toward a resident] not separate.” The Administrator “confirmed the facility’s Abuse policy for reporting and investigating verbal abuse" was not followed.
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated May 18, 2018, the state survey team documented that the facility failed to “ensure a resident’s gown was secured during transport.” The surveyor said that “this failure resulted in [the resident] falling forward out of the wheelchair, sustaining nasal fractures and lacerations requiring thirteen sutures.”
The survey team said that “based on observation, interview and record review, the facility failed to maintain a resident’s bathroom wall heater and bathroom floor tiles in a safe condition for two residents” reviewed for “environmental conditions.” The survey team reviewed the facility policy titled: Fall Management Guidelines dated October 2014 that reads in part:
“All reduction/injury prevention strategies that can be implemented upon admission may include but are not limited to the following: Removal of trip hazards, use of appropriate footwear.”
The survey team reviewed the facility’s Investigation Documentation. The report showed that after dinner time on April 18, 2018, the resident “was transported from the shower room by [a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) when the resident’s] gown engaged with the wheel of the wheelchair causing a change of plane and a forward motion.”
Documentation revealed the resident’s “injuries as a laceration to the right eyebrow, nose, and upper lip, and right wrist, and nasal fracture.” Documentation from the emergency room report from the same day showed “open fracture of the nasal bone.”
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated March 30, 2017, the state surveyors documented that the facility failed to “protect one resident from an episode of physical abuse.” The incident involved a resident being struck “in the face with a support cushion by [a member of the staff, causing the resident] emotional distress and angered that still continues.”
A review of the facility’s Investigation of Physical Abuse Report dated May 24, 2016 documents that “at approximately 6:40 PM on May 24, 2016, it was witnessed by [a Dietary Aide that a former Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA)] had hit the resident in the face with [the resident’s] support cushion from [their] chair.” The Dietary Aide saw the CNA “pick up a pillow off of the floor and hit [the resident] in the face with a pillow.”
During the assault, the Dietary Aide said that the CNA told the resident “to stop it or [the resident] was going to fall on the floor and [the CNA] was not going to pick [the resident] up.” The Dietary Aide said that the resident said something to the CNA who then mashed “the pillow in [the resident’s] face and hit [the resident] a few times.” After that, the CNA pushed the resident “to the North dining room and left [the resident] there.” The CNA then went and told the Activities Director about the incident.”
A review of the Local Police Report Incident Report dated on May 24, 2016, revealed that when the local police officer arrived, they were met by the Administrator who described the incident witnessed by the Dietary Aide” involving the cognitively intact resident. The resident stated that they recall the incident when the CNA threw the support cushion at the resident and “hit me in the face.”
The resident stated that the CNA “was just being a b*tch. I [the resident] never had to deal with [the CNA] after that. It may me feel like sh*t. Bothers me and it still bothers me when I think about it. It makes me angry.” The resident also said that “I felt that [the CNA] was abusive toward me. I never want to be around [the CNA] again.
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated March 30, 2017, a state surveyor documented that the nursing home had failed to “develop an abuse policy which encompasses procedures that prohibit and prevent exploitation of residents, procedures for reporting and investigating the exploitation of residents, and management procedures to prevent abuse of residents with dementia. This failure has the potential to affect all seventy residents living in the facility.”
The survey team reviewed the facility’s policy titled: Abuse that failed to include required components including:
“Procedures that prohibit and prevent exploitation of residents Procedures for reporting and investigating the exploitation of residents.”
The facility Administrator verified “the facility’s current abuse policy does not include the above-mentioned components.”
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated May 18, 2018, a state surveyor noted that the facility had failed to “implement alternatives [before] the use of bed rails [restraints] for five of eighteen residents.” The investigator said that “this failure also affects [four other residents] who are not in the sample.” The investigative team reviewed the facility’s policy titled: Side Rails / Bed Rails effective on April 10, 2018, that reads in part:
“The facility shall ensure that [before] the installation of bed rails, the facility has attempted to use alternatives.”
During an interview with the facility Director of Nursing, it was confirmed that “the facility does not have a system in place to attempt other interventions [before] the use of side rails.” The survey team reviewed the Consent Form for the “use of Side Rails dated March 4, 2018, along with the resident’s Side Rail Assessment that documents the resident “use of bed rails for mobility/safety.” Other interventions “previously attempted ‘not applicable.’”
Observations of the resident were made in the hours just before breakfast on May 14, 2018, when the resident was lying “in bed with bilateral half bed rails raised.” The surveyor said that the resident’s “current Care Plan does not document any alternative interventions attempted [before] the use of bed rails.”
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated May 18, 2018, the state investigators documented that the facility failed to “track resident outcomes for antibiotic use. This failure has the potential to affect all seventy-three residents residing in the facility.” The surveyors reviewed the facility’s policy titled: Infection Prevention and Control Program dated November 28, 2017, that reads in part:
“Antibiotic use will be logged and tracked to ensure … practices and outcomes are monitored for trends; and trends related to infections or antibiotics, new measures implemented, and outcomes will be communicated to the appropriate facility staff.”
However, a review of the facility Infection Log dated between February 2018 through May 2018 “does not document the follow-up to antibiotic effectiveness or outcomes.” As a part of the investigation, the surveyors interviewed the facility Director of Nursing on May 16, 2018, who stated that “I do not track post-antibiotic outcomes” as required by law.
If your family believes your loved one suffered harm or injuries while living at Aperion Care Marseilles, contact Illinois nursing home abuse and neglect lawyers at Nursing Home Law Center at (800) 926-7565 now. Our network of attorneys fights aggressively on behalf of LaSalle County victims of mistreatment living in long-term facilities including nursing homes in Marseilles. Contact us now to schedule a free case review to discuss how to obtain justice and resolve a financial compensation claim.
Let our skilled attorneys file and resolve your nursing home abuse compensation claim against all those who caused your loved one harm. Our years of experience ensure a successful outcome. Our attorneys accept every case concerning wrongful death, personal injury and nursing home abuse through a contingency fee agreement. This arrangement postpones your need to make a payment for our legal services until after your case is successfully resolved through a negotiated out of court settlement or jury trial award.
We offer each client a “No Win/No-Fee” Guarantee, meaning all fees are waived if we cannot obtain compensation to recover your damages. We can start on your case today to ensure you receive compensation for your damages. All information you share with our law offices will remain confidential.
Attorney Jonathan Rosenfeld
Licensed in Illinois
Chicago Nursing Home Injury Attorney Nursing Home Law Center LLC Home