Many families in Illinois have no other option than to place their loved one in a nursing home to ensure they receive the best health care and hygiene assistance. Unfortunately, many nursing facilities fail to provide adequate supervision or care that results in resident harm or premature death.
If your loved one was injured, neglected, mistreated or died unexpectedly while residing in a Cook County nursing home, contact the Illinois Nursing Home Law Center attorneys for immediate legal intervention. Our team of Chicago nursing home abuse lawyers has successfully resolved many cases just like yours. Contact us now so we can begin working on your case today.
This long-term care (LTC) home is a "for profit" 72-certified bed center providing cares and services to residents of Oak Park and Cook County, Illinois. The Medicare/Medicaid-participating facility is located at:
6909 West North Avenue
Oak Park, Illinois, 60302
(708) 386-1112
The investigators working for the state and federal government are legally authorized to impose monetary fines or deny payment for Medicare services if a nursing facility has been cited for serious violations of regulations.
Within the last three years, the state and federal investigators imposed a $6633 monetary penalty against Berkeley Nursing and Rehabilitation Center on April 21, 2017. Also, the nursing home received thirteen formally filed complaints 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.
Families can review comprehensive research results on the Medicare.gov and Illinois Department of Public Health nursing home system. These databases detail all health violations, opened investigations, safety concerns, incident inquiries, dangerous hazards, and filed complaints. The information is valuable to determine the level of health, medical and hygiene care long-term care facilities in the local community provide their residents.
According to Medicare, this facility maintains an overall rating of one out of five stars, including two 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 Cook County neglect attorneys at Nursing Home Law Center have found serious deficiencies and safety concerns at Berkeley Nursing and Rehabilitation Center that include:
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated May 18, 2018, the state investigators noted that the nursing home failed to “report an unknown incident that resulted in injury.” The deficient practice by the nursing staff involved one of four residents “reviewed for abuse.”
The incident involved a staff nurse documenting that a Nurse’s Aide had told them that a resident “had a hole in the head.” The nurse said that upon assisting the resident that the patient “did have a hole in the head with yellowish drainage noted. The Medical Doctor was notified and gave verbal orders to send [the patient] to the hospital.”
Documentation shows that the facility contacted a family member by phone to tell the family that the resident “was being taken to the local hospital, because [the patient] had discharge coming out of the skull.” The nurse said that the resident “was found to have developed a severe infection in the brain and had to be transferred to another hospital to have surgery to drain the infection and clean the brain.”
A report from the hospital shows that the resident remained in the hospital and underwent “brain surgery. The patient is critically ill due to a brain abscess.” A CT (computed tomography) “scan showed left frontal pneumocephalus [the presence of gas or air in the cranial cavity], and concerns for an 8.0 cm x 5.0 cm x 2.0 cm left frontal abscess.” The patient underwent plastic surgery.
As a part of the investigation, the surveyors asked the facility Administrator for “the State Agency reporting of the incident that occurred” at the facility concerning the resident. The Administrator said, “we did not report the incident because we felt we knew what caused [the resident] to have fluid leaking from [their] head.”
The survey team asked the Administrator “if the incident was observed.” The Administrator responded, “No.” When asked if the resident “went to the hospital and had a hospital stay as a result of an unknown incident” the Administrator responded, “Yes.” The Administrator said that they believed that the resident “had surgery as a result of an unknown injury” and had the Director of Nursing “present hospital documentation of the surgical procedure.”
“The facility affirms the right of residents to be free from abuse, neglect, exploitation, misappropriation of property or mistreatment. The purpose of this policy is to assure that the facility is doing all it is within its control to prevent occurrences of abuse, neglect, exploitation, misappropriation of property and mistreatment.”
“Any allegation of abuse or any incident that results in serious bodily injury will be reported to the Illinois Department of Public Health immediately, but not more than two hours after the allegation of abuse. Any incident that does not involve abuse and does not result in a serious injury shall be reported within 24 hours.”
The policy gives guidance on how to perform an internal investigation involving an injury of an unknown source when certain conditions are met. These conditions include “the source of the injury was not observed by any person, or the source of the injury could not be explained by the resident.”
The condition might include that “the injury is suspicious because of the extent of the injury, or the location of the injury is located in an area not generally vulnerable to trauma, or the number of injuries observed at one particular point in time for the incidents of injuries over time.”
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated May 18, 2018, the state surveyors documented that the nursing home had “failed to ensure that quarterly assessments were certified by a Registered Nurse for five residents” reviewed for “MDS (Minimum Data Set) Assessments.” The surveyor’s findings included in MDS Assessment for a resident “read that the Quarterly Assessment was due on April 1, 2018 [and that] the quarterly assessment was not complete and is export ready. The quarterly report for [the resident] is forty-two days overdue.”
The surveyors interviewed the Director of Nursing who is also the MDS Coordinator who said that “the assessments are sitting in export because I have to review them. I have not had a chance to do them.”
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated May 18, 2018, a state investigator noted the nursing home's failure to “ensure that staff utilized hand hygiene for [one resident] reviewed for wound care.” The surveyors observed wound care being performed by a Licensed Practical Nurse on the morning of May 16, 2018.
At that time, the LPN “washed hands and placed gloves on and proceeded to touch curtains, bedside table, and picked up [the resident’s] Foley catheter bag and placed it on the bed next to [the resident].” The LPN then “removed the dressing from [the resident’s] coccyx area and cleaned inside the wound.” However, the LPN “did not remove gloves or perform hand hygiene before applying a new dressing to [the resident’s] coccyx wound.”
A few minutes later, the LPN “washed hands and donned gloves and removed the old dressing, cleaned inside [the resident’s] left buttock wound.” However, the LPN “did not remove her gloves or perform hand hygiene before applying new dressing to [the resident’s] left buttock wound.” After continued observation of the LPN, the surveyor interviewed the nurse who said, “I washed my hands before I started, and I washed my hands before I started the next dressing.”
As a part of the investigation, the survey team reviewed the Facility’s policy and procedure titled: Nonsterile Dressing that reads in part:
“Remove soiled dressing and place in a plastic trash bag. Wash hands. Don new gloves. Clean or irrigate the wound. Remove gloves and discard in a plastic bag. Wash hands, don new gloves.”
In a separate summary statement of deficiencies dated April 21, 2017, the state survey investigators documented that the nursing home had “failed to follow current standards of infection control practices under hand washing techniques during wound care.” The deficient practice by the nursing staff involved one resident “reviewed for wound care” concerning residents, “which has the potential of contamination and the spread of infection.”
The surveyors observed the facility Wound Care Nurse providing wound care to a resident. “After washing his hands, he placed the plastic bag in the garbage can.” The nurse then “put on his gloves and continued with the dressing.” Approximately fifteen minutes later, the wound care nurse “finished cleaning the wound with normal saline [then] touched the light switch to turn on the light and then continued with the wound care.”
The surveyors interviewed the Director of Nursing concerning the failure by the Wound Care Nurse. The Director said that “he should have washed his hands.” It is “definitely time to provide in-service on hand washing during wound care dressing.” A Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) stated the next day that “I noticed [the Wound Care Nurse] picked up the plastic bag from the bedside table in placed it in the trash can and continued with the dressing. He touched the switch to turn on the light, put on his gloves, and continued to do the dressing.”
The surveyors interviewed the Wound Care Physician who said, “Yes, they must follow good handwashing technique during wound care.” The Director of Nursing presented the Hand Hygiene Policy dated April 15, 2013, and showed the surveyors it says, “Decontaminating hands after contact with an inanimate object in the immediate vicinity of the resident.”
Do you suspect your loved one was victimized by caregivers, visitors, employees or other residents while a resident at Berkeley Nursing and Rehabilitation Center? If so, call Illinois nursing home abuse and neglect attorneys at Nursing Home Law Center at (800) 926-7565 today. Our network of attorneys fights aggressively on behalf of Cook County victims of mistreatment living in long-term facilities including nursing homes in Oak Park. Contact us now to schedule a free case review to discuss how to obtain justice and resolve a financial compensation claim.
Our seasoned attorneys provide legal representation to long-term care home residents who have been harmed by negligence and abuse. Our legal team has years of experience in successfully resolving claims for compensation against caregivers who must be held accountable. We accept every case involving nursing home neglect, wrongful death, or personal injury through a contingency fee arrangement. This agreement will postpone the need to make a payment for our legal services until after our attorneys have resolved your case through a jury trial award or negotiated out of court settlement.
We offer all clients a “No Win/No-Fee” Guarantee. This promise ensures your family will owe us nothing 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 Lawyer Nursing Home Law Center LLC Home