Mistreatment that occurs in nursing homes continues to be a growing issue in America. According to national statistics, the most vulnerable members of society including the disabled and elderly are abused at almost a third of all nursing homes in the United States. If caregivers, visitors, employees or other residents harmed your loved one, the Illinois Nursing Home Law Center Attorneys can provide immediate legal intervention on your behalf.
Our team of lawyers have successfully resolved many nursing home abuse cases involving Tazewell County residents and can help your family too. Contact us now so we can begin working on your case today. Let us use the law to hold those responsible for harming your loved one both legally and financially accountable.
If your loved one has been mistreated at Aperion Care Morton Villa, contact our Chicago nursing home abuse attorneys.
This long-term care (LTC) home is a "for profit" 106-certified bed center providing cares and services to residents of Morton and Tazewell County, Illinois. The Medicare/Medicaid-participating facility is located at:
190 East Queenwood Road
Morton, Illinois, 61550
(309) 266-9741
In addition to providing around-the-clock skilled nursing care, Aperion Care Morton Villa also offers numerous care options including psychiatric rehab, long-term living solutions, and short-term rehab.
Federal agencies and the State of Illinois have a legal responsibility to monitor every nursing facility. If serious violations are identified, the government can impose monetary fines or deny payments through Medicare if the resident was harmed or could have been harmed by the deficiency. Within the last three years, state and federal nursing home regulatory agencies imposed a monetary fine against Aperion Care Morton Villa for $6194 on January 26, 2017, due to substandard care.
Also, over the last thirty-six months, this facility has received fourteen formally filed complaints and self-reported two serious issues 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 state of Illinois regularly updates their long-term care home database system with complete details of all opened investigations, dangerous hazards, filed complaints, safety concerns, incident inquiries, and health violations. The search results can be found on numerous online sites including the Illinois Department of Public Health website and Medicare.gov.
According to Medicare, this facility maintains an overall rating of one out of five stars, including one out of five stars concerning health inspections and two out of five stars for quality measures. The Tazewell County neglect attorneys at Nursing Home Law Center have found serious deficiencies and safety concerns at Aperion Care Morton Villa that include:
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated September 20, 2018, the state surveyors documented that the facility failed to “utilize a gait belt during a resident transfer and conduct a smoking risk assessment for two of eight residents reviewed for accidents.” The investigators reviewed the facility’s Smoking Policy and Procedure that reads in part:
“All residents who smoke will be assessed upon admission, quarterly and ‘as needed.’ The assessment combines cognition, judgment, manual dexterity, and staff observation to deem a resident safe to smoke. Residents who have elected and successfully adapted to Electronic Cigarettes are not restricted by this policy.”
“Smokers will be evaluated to determine their ability to comply with safety rules and their ability to carry and store smoking materials.”
The investigative team reviewed a resident’s Smoking Assessment dated January 23, 2018, that shows that the resident is a non-smoker. “This assessment also documents” that the resident is “a non-smoker during winter months [because] he does not want to go out into the cold.” The document revealed that between September 17, 2018, and September 19, 2018, the smoker went outside and sometimes smoked on the back patio.
As a part of the investigation, the surveyors interviewed the Director of Nursing on the afternoon of September 19, 2018, stated that a “smoking assessment should be done quarterly” and verified that the resident “should have had additional smoking assessments to assess [the resident’s] smoking safety.”
The surveyors investigated in a different incident that required a review of the facility Transfer Manual Gait Belt and Mechanical Lift Policy that was revised on January 19, 2018, that reads in part:
“To protect the safety and well-being of the staff and residents, and to promote quality care, this facility will use mechanical lifting devices for lifting and movements of residents. The transferring needs of residents will be assessed on an ongoing basis.”
Documentation shows that on the morning hours of September 18, 2018, a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) transferred the resident from their wheelchair to a recliner chair. The CNA then assisted the resident “to stand and pivot” into a recliner “by grabbing onto the back of [the resident’s] shirt.” The CNA “did not use a gait belt during the transfer” when the resident “was unsteady when standing on [their] feet and experienced difficulty when pivoting into [a] chair.”
The investigators interviewed the CNA who verified that they had transferred the resident “with no gait belt and that [the resident] was unsteady when standing and pivoting into [a] chair.” The CNA said, “we usually do not use a gait belt on [that resident].”
The investigators interviewed the facility Director of Nursing stated that “staff should utilize a gait belt when transferring a resident if they are to stand, pivot or transfer.” The Director also said that the CNA “should have used a gait belt for [the resident’s] transfer.”
In a separate summary statement of deficiencies dated March 13, 2017, the state surveyors noted a failure that involved a resident with “a history of falls.” A review of the resident’s physician’s orders and Physician Order Sheet guides the nursing staff to use a mechanical lift for all transfers.
The cognitively intact resident’s “Activities of Daily Living Sheet” documents that the resident “requires the assistance of 2+ persons for bed mobility and requires total dependence on staff for transfers.” The same “MDS also documents [the resident] requires extensive assistance or bed mobility.”
A review of the resident’s Nurse’s Notes dated January 16, 2018, at 9:00 PM revealed that the resident “fell out of bed while a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) was providing care. Skin tear noted on her left elbow. Resident complaining of pain [rated at an 8 out of 10] on hips and chest around the ribs. The resident is being transported to the local area hospital for further evaluation.”
While at the hospital, doctors diagnosed the resident as having an acute mildly displaced intertrochanteric fractured femur that required a right hip gamma nail insertion.
Surveyors interviewed a Certified Nursing Assistant. The CNA said while cleaning the resident “by myself, [I] had someone help me (mechanical lift) the resident from the wheelchair to the bed, then the [other] CNA left the room, and I rolled [the resident onto the resident’s] left side by myself. Normally when we rolled [the resident] side to side, we would have two staff members. We are supposed to roll a resident with two people when they are a mechanical lift. If we are rolling a resident by ourselves, we should roll the resident toward us.” The resident “was turned away from me” and said that “no side rails were in use on [the resident’s] bed.”
The investigators interviewed the Director of Nursing who said that the resident “should have had two Certified Nursing Assistants when being rolled [to their] side in bed.” The Director said the resident “was a mechanical lift transfer. All mechanical lift transfers are automatically to assist with cares regarding bed mobility and transfers.”
The resident “has also a left lower extremity [medical condition], even more of a reason to have two staff members. There were ten CNAs on the shift the night [the resident] fell. There was no reason to have only use one CNA. The use of two CNAs could have prevented this fall.”
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated June 27, 2018, the state surveyors noted that the nursing home failed to “implement their Abuse Prevention and Reporting policy regarding resident injuries of unknown origin.” The deficient practice by the nursing staff involved one resident “with skin tears.” The investigators reviewed the facility policy titled: Abuse Prevention and Reporting – Illinois dated November 28, 2016, that reads in part:
“All incidents will be documented, whether or not abuse, neglect, exploitation, mistreatment or misappropriation of resident property occurred, was alleged or suspected. Any incident or allegation involving abuse, neglect, exploitation, mistreatment, or misappropriation of the resident’s property will result in an investigation.”
“For residents’ injuries not involving an allegation of abuse or neglect, the Administrator will appoint a person to gather further facts to [determine] as to whether the injury should be classified as an ‘injury of unknown source.’”
The survey team reviewed a severely, cognitively impaired resident’s MDS (Minimum Data Set) and Certified Nursing Assistant Every Shift Skin Observation Report that revealed the resident “has a newly identified skin tear on June 5, 2018, June 7, 2018, and June 14, 2018.” The skin tears “were documented as reported to the nursing staff. The Electronic Medical Record failed to document any further information regarding [the resident’s] three skin tears, including the location of these injuries, size, or how they occurred.”
The investigator interviewed the facility Administrator on the afternoon of June 26, 2018, who “was unable to locate an investigation into [the resident’s] skin tears,” which were identified between June 5, 2018, and June 14, 2018. The Administrator verified that the skin tears “had not been included in the facility’s Incident/Occurrence Log” stating “without knowing the origin of [the resident’s] injuries, an investigation has been completed an attempt to determine the cause, as per facility policy.”
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated September 20, 2018, the state investigators documented that the facility failed to “keep the facility free of insects. This [failure] has the potential to affect all seventy residents in the facility.” The investigators reviewed the facility policy titled: Pest Control dated February 14, 2018, that reads in part:
“The purpose of pest control is to prevent or control insects or rodents from spreading disease. The pest control program will be conducted on a regular and ‘as needed’ basis.”
The investigators conducted a Resident Council Meeting on the morning of September 18, 2018, where five residents attended the meeting. Some resident stated, “flies are a problem, especially when we are eating in the dining rooms.”
The investigators interviewed the Maintenance Director on September 20, 2018, who stated “we do have a problem with flies. There is not anything we can do about it.” The Director said, “I have discussed it [with the Administrator] and have not come up with how to handle it.”
Observations were made at the facility on September 17, 2017, at 11:15 AM and noon where “flies were present in the kitchen landing on food and food preparation surfaces” and “flies were present in the dining room landing on tables and plates being served.”
Do you suspect caregivers, visitors, employees or other residents victimized your loved one while living at Aperion Care Morton Villa? If so, call Illinois nursing home abuse and neglect lawyers at Nursing Home Law Center at (800) 926-7565 today. Our network of attorneys fights aggressively on behalf of Tazewell County victims of mistreatment living in long-term facilities including nursing homes in Morton. Contact us now to schedule a free case review to discuss how to obtain justice and resolve a financial compensation claim.
Our abuse and mistreatment injury attorneys represent victims injured by neglect of the nursing staff. Our network of attorneys working on your behalf can ensure your family receives adequate financial recompense for the injuries, harm, losses, and damages your loved one has endured by others. We accept every case concerning wrongful death, nursing home abuse, and personal injury 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.
Our network of attorneys offers every client a “No Win/No-Fee” Guarantee, meaning you will owe us nothing if we are unable to obtain compensation to recover your family’s damages. We can begin working on your case today to resolve your case before the state statute of limitations expires. 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