Many families have no other option than to turn the care of their loved one over to professional nursing staff members in facilities in their local community. Unfortunately, many of the elderly, disabled, rehabilitating or infirmed individuals become the victims of mistreatment by caregivers through a lack of training and other residents through a lack of supervision.
If your loved one was victimized while residing in a Douglas County or Moultrie County nursing facility, the Illinois Nursing Home Law Center attorneys can provide immediate intervention. Our team of attorneys has extensive experience in resolving complex nursing home abuse and neglect cases. Contact us now so we can begin working on your legal case today to ensure your family is adequately compensated for your damages and those responsible for causing the harm are held legally accountable.
If your loved one has been mistreated at Arthur Home, contact our Chicago nursing home neglect lawyer.
This long-term care (LTC) home is a 53-certified bed center providing cares and services to residents of Arthur and Douglas and Moultrie counties, Illinois. The Medicare/Medicaid-approved "not for profit" facility is located at:
423 Eberhardt Drive
Arthur, Illinois, 61911
(217) 543-2103
State and federal investigators have the legal authority to penalize any nursing home cited for serious violations of regulations and rules. These penalties include levying monetary fines and denying payment of Medicare services. Typically, these violations result in penalties when investigators identify severe problems that harmed or could have harmed a resident.
Within the last three years, nursing home regulators impose a substantial monetary penalty against The Arthur Home for $121,794 on December 1, 2016. Also, the facility received two formally filed complaints and self-reported five 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.
To be fully informed on the level of care nursing homes provide, families routinely research the Medicare.gov and the Illinois Department of Public Health website database systems. These sites detail a comprehensive list of health violations, safety concerns, incident inquiries, opened investigations, filed complaints, and dangerous hazards. This information provides valuable content to make a well-informed decision of where to place a loved one who requires the highest level of health care and hygiene assistance.
According to Medicare, this facility maintains an overall rating of one out of five stars, including one out of five stars concerning health inspections, one out of five stars for staffing issues and two out of five stars for quality measures. The Douglas and Moultrie County neglect attorneys at Nursing Home Law Center have found serious deficiencies and safety concerns at Arthur Home that include:
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated October 12, 2017, the state investigative team documented that the nursing home “failed to assess and document wound assessments and measurements for [one resident] reviewed for pressure ulcers.”
As a part of the investigation, the surveyors reviewed the resident’s TAR (Treatment Administration Record) that included an order dated August 21, 2017. The order directs the staff to “cleanse the open areas to the right and left buttocks with wound cleanser, pat dry, apply [the medication and dressing] every three to five days or as needed.”
A Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) was observed in the early afternoon of October 10, 2017, completing “the treatment as ordered on [the resident’s] buttocks.” The LPN said that the left side of the resident’s “buttocks has closed [and] we are continuing the dressing as a preventative [measure].” The LPN said that the resident’s “right wound is healing, but there is a small open area.”
The nurse “pointed to an open area on [the resident’s] right buttocks that was approximately the size of a dime. The area was opened, beefy red, and had a scant amount of pink drainage.”
The investigative team reviewed the facility’s document titled Current Wounds provided by the Registered Nurse that covers “the weekly wound measurements and assessments for September 25, 2017, October 2, 2017, and October 9, 2017.” However, the report “does not include [the resident’s] wound on [their] buttocks.” The Registered Nurse stated the following day that “the wounds on the [resident’s] buttocks are healed. We are just doing the treatment as a preventative [measure].”
However, the Registered Nurse (RN) was observed the following afternoon on October 11, 2017, removing the dressing from the resident’s “buttocks to conduct a skin check” that was “accompanied by the surveyor.” The RN stated “I was not aware of this open area. I will assess and measure this.”
The investigative team reviewed the facility’s policy titled: Recommended Pressure Ulcer Treatment Protocols dated February 11, 2015, that reads in part:
“All residents with pressure ulcers will be treated with consistent treatment protocols to aid in the healing process. The protocol defined as a Stage II partial loss of skin layers involving epidermis. The ulcer is superficial and presents clinically as an abrasion, blister, or shallow crater.”
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated October 12, 2017, the state investigators documented that the facility had failed to “complete the root cause analysis for a fall and failed to identify, implement and monitor fall interventions for three of six residents reviewed for falls.”
One incident involved the review of a resident’s multiple months Care Plans that revealed the resident had a fall on six dates from January 20, 2017, through October 2, 2017. This Care Plan states [that the] October 2, 2017 fall” occurred at 3:00 PM when the resident was “found on the floor in front of the toilet.” The report shows that the “lap tray was still in place as though [the resident] slid out from underneath the tray.”
A review of the Witness Statement Form documented by a Licensed Practical Nurse dated October 2, 2017, revealed that the resident’s “Tab alarm going off. [I] went to the resident’s room. [I] found the resident in front of [their] wheelchair [with the] lap tray still on. Tab alarm wrapped around the lap tray. It appeared the resident slid under the lap tray and ended up on the floor in front of the toilet. No root cause analysis was documented for this fall.”
On October 10, 2017, just after noon, the same resident “was sitting in a wheelchair in the dining room with a lap tray in place across [their] lap. The lap tray was attached to the wheelchair arms on both sides with self-adhering straps and resting on the arms of [their] wheelchair.”
The resident “was leaning to the left side with [their] left lower arm behind the chair back and to the left inner wheel. The straps were attached so that the tray was able to slide forward, leaving a gap on either side between the wheelchair frame and the ridged arm of the tray.” An additional observation was made the following morning while the resident was in an activity room and sleeping when they “began to slide down in the wheelchair.”
The state investigative team interviewed the Physical Therapy Assistant on the morning of October 11, 2017, who stated: “I can see that [the resident] might catch [their] arm or wrist and the lap tray if [they] fell.” The Physical Therapy Assistant also said that “I was not aware that [the resident fell before]. Therapy notes document that [the resident] has not been assessed by skilled nursing” for some time.”
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated August 15, 2018, the state survey team noted that the nursing home failed to “prevent the physical abuse of a resident by an employee.” The moderately, cognitively impaired resident was “one of three residents reviewed for abuse.”
The state survey team reviewed the resident’s MDS (Minimum Data Set) and the facility report titled: Final Investigation dated August 9, 2018. The reports showed that four days earlier on August 5, 2018, at approximately 8:30 PM, three Certified Nursing Assistants were providing care to their assigned residents. The three assistants were in a resident’s room. One CNA said they told the resident “it was late and [the resident] had to go to bed. The resident had just “had visitors and was not ready to lie down. The CNA “began to transfer [the resident] from the wheelchair to [the resident’s] low bed.”
One CNA said the other CNA “was irritated and rough with [the resident, stating that the aggressive CNA through the resident down on to their bed “with a good amount of force, almost hitting [the resident’s] head on the wall.” At that time, all three Certified Nursing Assistants “left the room.”
The same document reports that at approximately 9:20 PM, fifty minutes later, on the same day, the reporting CNA approached a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) and voiced “some concerns regarding the way [the abusive CNA] was treating some of the residents.” At that time, the LPN immediately called another LPN and the Care Plan/Minimum Data Set Coordinator over to the Nurse’s Station.”
The reporting CNA then reported to the second LPN what occurred saying they had “witnessed three incidents of alleged abuse.” The report also states that the reporting CNA “was apprehensive to report, as [they were] a new employee.”
The investigative team reviewed the facility’s forms involving abuse that directs the nursing staff what to do if there are concerns of abuse, including verbal, mental, physical, sexual, involuntary, misappropriation of resident property and neglect. The report dated August 9, 2018 documents the facility’s conclusion of the incident involving the alleged abuse. Because of the results of the investigation, the allegedly aggressive Certified Nursing Assistant “was terminated from the facility.”
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated August 15, 2018, the state surveyor noted that the nursing home at “failed to operationalize their Abuse Prevention Policy. This failure resulted in the actual abuse of [the resident listed above].” The investigators reviewed the facility’s policy titled: Abuse that reads in part:
“The resident has a right to be free from abuse, neglect, misappropriation of resident property and exploitation. This [right] includes, but is not limited to freedom from corporal punishment, involuntary seclusion and any physical or chemical restraint not required to treat the resident’s medical conditions.”
The surveyors also noted that the facility failed to “timely report suspected abuse, neglect and report the results of the investigation to proper authorities. The investigators said that according to the Abuse Policy all “employees must immediately report any suspected abuse to the Administrator.”
Are you suffering from abuse, neglect or mistreatment while residing at Arthur Home? If so, call the Illinois nursing home abuse and neglect attorneys at Nursing Home Law Center at (800) 926-7565 now for help. Our network of attorneys fights aggressively on behalf of Douglas and Moultrie County victims of mistreatment living in long-term facilities including nursing homes in Arthur. Contact us now to schedule a free case review to discuss how to obtain justice and resolve a financial compensation claim.
Our team of skilled nursing resident injury attorneys can assist your family and successfully resolve your case for financial recompense against all parties including the facility, doctors, nurses, and staff members that caused your loved one’s harm. Our attorneys accept every case concerning wrongful death, personal injury and nursing home abuse through a contingency fee arrangement. This agreement postpones making payments to our legal firm until after we have successfully resolved your case through a jury trial award or negotiated settlement.
We provide all clients a “No Win/No-Fee” Guarantee, meaning you owe us nothing if we are unable to obtain compensation on your behalf. We can begin representing you in your case today to ensure you receive adequate 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 Lawyer Nursing Home Law Center LLC Home