Any nursing home, restroom, convalescent center, or rehabilitation facility can be held legally at fault for damages if a resident is injured, abused, mistreated or neglected. Unfortunately, countless injuries, events, and accidents occur from the nursing staff's failure to provide quality care to the resident or by not following standards of practice as outlined in the nursing home's policies and procedures. Every employee in a nursing home must provide the residents with a safe environment free of accidents and maintain adequate safety and health policies. Our nursing home neglect affiliated attorneys in South Carolina at (800) 926-7565 have represented thousands of injured nursing home residents who have a valid legal claim to receive financial compensation for their harm. If your loved one has been mistreated at Blue Ridge in Georgetown, contact our South Carolina nursing home abuse lawyers.
This facility is an 84-certified bed 'for profit' Medicare/Medicaid-participating nursing home providing services and cares to residents and visitors of Georgetown and Georgetown County, South Carolina. The Medicaid/Medicare-participating Nursing Center is located at:
2715 S. Island Rd.
Georgetown, SC 29440
(843) 546-4123
Blue Ridge in Georgetown provides numerous services to residents including:
Both the state of South Carolina and federal agencies penalize nursing homes by denying reimbursement payments from Medicare or imposing monetary fines anytime the facility is cited for a serious violation of established regulations and rules that harm or could harm residents. Over the last three years, Blue Ridge in Georgetown has not been filed by either the State of Carolina or the federal government. Additional information about fines can be found on the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control website concerning Blue Ridge in Georgetown.
Both the federal government and the state of South Carolina routinely update their nursing home database systems to reflect all dangerous hazards, health violations, safety concerns, incident inquiries, opened investigations, and filed complaints. This information can be found on numerous websites including Medicare.gov. Currently, Blue Ridge in Georgetown maintains an overall one out of five available star rating in the Medicare star rating summary system compared to all other facilities in the United States. This rating includes two out of five stars concerning health inspections, one out of five stars for staffing issues and four out of five stars for quality measures. The Georgetown County abuse and neglect attorneys at Nursing Home Law Center have found serious deficiencies and safety concerns at this facility that include:
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated March 30, 2017, a state investigator noted when performing an annual licensure and certification survey that the facility failed to "accurately implement an intervention related to pressure ulcer treatment." The deficient practice by the nursing staff involved a resident whose "air mattress was not set on the proper weight setting." A review of the resident's records revealed that they were suffering from a Stage IV pressure ulcer to the coccyx and a Stage II pressure ulcer to the right heel." The surveyor reviewed the resident's interventions that revealed that "the resident was to be on an air mattress."
The investigator observed the air mattress on March 28, 2017, at 4:23 PM, March 29, 2017, at 5:45 PM, and March 30, 2017, at 4:01 PM. The observations "revealed the weight setting on the bed was on the patient's weight of 100 pounds. This [issue] was confirmed by the Registered Nurse during the observation made on March 30, 2017." However, a review of the resident's weights reveals that the resident currently weighed 171.6 pounds on March 15, 2017. Further review showed that there "was no documentation the settings of the air mattress was being monitored." The investigator interviewed the Registered Nurse on the afternoon of March 30, 2017, who stated that "once a mattress as ordered, maintenance assess the mattress up in the person taking care of the resident should check the bed setting to ensure the settings were correct."
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated May 26, 2016, a state survey team opened the complaint investigation against the facility for its failure to "ensure fall prevention interventions were in place and functional for [a resident] reviewed for accidents." The resident "did not have a chair alarm in place and a bed alarm was not functional."
The state investigators reviewed the resident's Care Plan that revealed that the resident "was Care Planned to have a pressure pad alarm in the bed and wheelchair." However, investigators observed the resident at 2:18 PM on May 24, 2016, when the resident "was up in the wheelchair in the day room. A pommel cushion was in place, but no chair alarm was observed." A follow-up observation of the resident two days later at 5:30 PM revealed the resident still "did not have a wheelchair alarm." Four minutes later, the Registered Nurse providing the resident care "confirmed there was no wheelchair alarm." One minute later, the resident "was observed in the bed. The bed alarm was observed on the side of the bed." The Registered Nurse "was asked to test the bed alarm. Upon testing the bed alarm, [the Registered Nurse] confirmed that the bed alarm was not functioning."
In a separate summary statement of deficiencies dated January 29, 2015, the state investigator documented the facility's failure "to ensure that the resident environment remained as free of accident hazards as was possible on one hall of one of two units." An observation was made of one hall that revealed "an unsecured storage area containing hazardous materials." The investigator observed the chemical storage closet during an initial tour that occurred on January 26, 2015, at 5:05 PM. At that time, the "door was locked but did not latch." It was then that the facility administrator confirmed "the door does not always latch" after observing the door. The investigator noted that there were hazardous chemicals in the storage room including:
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated May 26, 2016, the state investigator documented the facility's failure "to provide care and services that met professional standards of practice." The deficient practice involved a resident "who had a Peripheral Inserted Central Catheter (PICC) Line." Two residents at the facility were administered PICC line flushes and antibiotics by a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) with "no documentation of advanced training, and there were nine days when a Registered Nurse was not on-site when the LPNs administer the medications and flushes via the PICC line."
The investigator reviewed the facility's MAR (Medication Administration Record) that revealed that "Licensed Practical Nurses administered medications and flush the resident's PICC Line without proper training of the use of a PICC line" between May 16, 2016, and May 26, 2016. During an interview with the Director of Nursing on May 26, 2016, the Director "was asked to provide documentation that the LPNs taking care of the resident's PICC line had been trained to work with a PICC line." The Director "confirmed that not all LPNs were trained in handling a PICC line and classes were scheduled for June 21, 2016, and June 22, 2016." The Director also confirmed that a Registered Nurse "was not always in the building as required during the manipulation of the PICC line by the LPNs."
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated January 29, 2015, the state investigator documented that the facility had "failed to ensure services of a Register Nurse (RN) for at least eight consecutive hours a day, seven days a week. The facility had no RN coverage for the weekends in November 2013."
The state investigator's findings identified a pattern where there was "no RN coverage for at least eight hours each day. During an interview on January 29, 2015, at 6:15 PM, the Assistant Director of Nursing stated that a Registered Nurse had been scheduled but had called out [sick]. After reviewing the staffing pattern and punch cards, the Assistant Director of Nursing confirmed that the Registered Nurse had not been replaced by another Registered Nurse."
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated March 30, 2017, a notation was made by a state investigator while performing an annual licensure and certification survey involving the nursing home's failure to "assess a resident's bruit and thrill [an audible vascular sound of the resident's blood flow that can be heard through a stethoscope] as ordered." The state investigator reviewed the resident's Treatment Administration Record that revealed "there was no documentation related to the bruit and thrill. A comprehensive review of the nurse's notes revealed there was no documentation or that only one shift documented the resident's bruit and thrill between January 18, 2017, and March 27, 2017.
The state investigator interviewed the Registered Nurse on Duty at dinner time of March 30, 2017, who "confirmed there were omissions where the bruit and thrill were not checked as ordered." The facility did not provide a policy or procedure related to the care of the resident during the survey process.
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated March 30, 2017, a notation was made by the state surveyor while performing an annual licensure and certification survey regarding the nursing home's failure to "maintain an infection control program designed to provide a safe and sanitary environment and help prevent the development and transmission of disease and infection."
The state investigator stated that "during transport of soiled linen, the staff did not utilize proper personal protective equipment [PPE]" during a review of the laundry room. Additionally, "the facility could not provide complete tracking and trending for the past year nor the policy related to tracking and trending infections." An observation was made on the afternoon of March 29, 2017, when "a laundry worker was transporting soiled linen to the laundry room without wearing gloves." A state investigator interviewed the laundry worker at that time who verified that they "had removed the bag and unbagged soiled linen from the soiled linen room with [their] bare hands." The investigator reviewed the facility policy title: Laundry and Bedding, Soiled, that reads in part:
"Soiled Laundry/Bedding shall be handled in a manner that prevents gross microbial contamination of the air and persons handling the linen."
"Anyone who handles soiled laundry must wear protective gloves and other appropriate protective equipment."
A different policy titled: Infection Control - Linen Handling Policy stated that "PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) may be used when handling soiled linen, as necessary if linen is heavily soiled with blood and body fluids. All employees must wear gloves when handling soiled linen."
The Nursing Home Law Center Attorneys provide legal representation, advice, and counsel to residents of South Carolina long-term care homes like Blue Ridge in Georgetown who have been neglected, abused and mistreated. If your loved one was injured or died unexpectedly from neglect while residing in a nursing home in South Carolina, let our team of dedicated lawyers protect your rights. Contact the Georgetown nursing home abuse lawyers at Nursing Home Law Center at (800) 926-7565 today to schedule a free case consultation to discuss filing a claim for compensation to recover your damages. Our team of attorneys can handle every aspect of your case from filing the necessary paperwork in the proper South Carolina courthouse to settling your claim out of court or winning your case at trial.
Our legal team accepts every wrongful death lawsuit, personal injury claim, and nursing home abuse case for compensation through contingency fee agreements. This arrangement postpones your need to pay for our legal services until we have successfully resolved your case in a negotiated settlement or jury trial. Our legal team offers every client a "No Win/No-Fee" guarantee. This promise ensures you owe our law office nothing if we are unable to obtain compensation to recover your damages. Let us begin working on your case today to ensure that your family is adequately compensated for the damages incurred by caregivers who harm to your loved one. All information you share with our law office will remain confidential.
Attorney Nathan Hughey
Licensed in South Carolina
Georgetown Nursing Home Injury Lawyer Nursing Home Law Center LLC Home