The decision to entrust a loved one’s management of care in a nursing facility is never an easy choice for families. In some cases, the medical professionals failed to follow established standards and protocol that can lead to mistreatment, abuse or neglect. Often, family members do not quickly recognize that their loved one is being mistreated until after serious harm has occurred or the resident dies unexpectedly.
If you suspect that your loved one is the victim of mistreatment while residing in a Christian County nursing facility, contact the Kentucky Nursing Home Law Center attorneys now for immediate legal intervention. Our team of lawyers has handled cases exactly like yours and can help your family too. Let us use the law on your family’s behalf to ensure you receive adequate compensation for your damages. We can ensure that those responsible for the harm are held and legally accountable.
This long-term care (LTC) home is a "for profit" 100-certified bed center providing cares and services to residents of Hopkinsville and Christian County, Kentucky. The Medicare/Medicaid-participating facility is located at:
950 Highpoint Drive
Hopkinsville, Kentucky, 42240
(270) 885-1151
In addition to providing around-the-clock skilled nursing care, Bradford Heights Health and Rehab Center provides other amenities and services that include:
Kentucky and federal investigators have the legal authority to penalize any nursing home that has been cited for a serious violation that harmed or could have harmed a nursing home resident. Typically, these penalties include imposed monetary fines and denial of payment for Medicare services.
Within the last three years, both the state and federal nursing home regulatory agencies imposed monetary fines against Bradford Heights Health and Rehabilitation Center citing substandard care. These penalties include a $100,960 fine on April 20, 2016, a $7329 fine on September 6, 2018, and a $7153 fine on September 6, 2018, for a total of $115,442. Also, Medicare denied payment for services rendered on two different dates including on September 6, 2018, and April 20, 2016.
The nursing home received seven 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 Kentucky Department of Health Care Nursing Home Reporting Website concerning this nursing facility.
Families can review comprehensive research results on Medicare.gov and the Kentucky Department of Public Health nursing home databases. These database systems detail all filed complaints, opened investigations, safety concerns, incident inquiries, health violations, and dangerous hazards. 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 one out of five stars concerning health inspections, three out of five stars for staffing issues and two out of five stars for quality measures. The Christian County neglect attorneys at Nursing Home Law Center have found serious deficiencies and safety concerns at Bradford Heights Health and Rehabilitation Center that include:
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated September 6, 2018, the state investigators documented that the facility had failed to “ensure each resident receives adequate supervision and assistance devices to prevent accidents.” The deficient practice by the nursing staff involved one resident and a licensed nurse who on July 2, 2018 “failed to ensure the batteries were charged on [the resident’s] quick release alarming seatbelt.”
On July 21, 2018, “the resident stood up from the wheelchair without the alarm sounding. The resident fell and sustained” injuries that required a surgical procedure on July 23, 2018.” The investigators reviewed the facility’s policy titled: Incidents/Accidents that was last revised on November 28, 2016, that reads in part:
“The facility is to provide a safe and hazard-free environment as is possible. The incident/accident reporting an investigative process is part of the facility’s ongoing quality assessment/assurance program. Incidents, accidents or injuries of unknown origin will be investigated, and appropriate interventions taken as needed.”
The incident involved a severely cognitively intact resident. The resident’s MDS (Minimum Data Set) Assessment and Brief Interview for Mental Status (BIMS) score revealed that the resident “was not interview-able. Further review revealed the resident utilized a trunk restraint daily and required extensive assistance with one [person] with activities of daily living.”
A review of the resident’s Comprehensive Care Planned for Falls indicated that the resident is “at risk related to Alzheimer’s, anti-psychiatric medications, incontinence, impaired communication, and impaired safety and balance dated January 29, 2018, with interventions for a quick release safety belt to the wheelchair alarm.” A review of the resident’s Competence of Care Plan for Potential for Decline revealed “seatbelt use for safety dated January 29, 2018, with interventions to utilize a ‘quick release’ safety belt to the wheelchair alarm and observed for proper placement as needed.”
A review of the resident’s Hendrick II, Fall Risk Model, revealed that the resident “was assessed on June 24, 2018, with a Fall Score of 10, signifying the resident was a high risk for falls.” The resident’s Treatment Administration Record (TAR) revealed that the resident “had a quick release alarming seatbelt to the wheelchair related to unaware of safety needs and to change batteries on the first Monday of each month. However, further review revealed there were no initials to indicate the alarm batteries were checked on July 2, 2018 (the first Monday) or any time after that through July 21, 2018.”
A review of the facility’s Abbreviated Fall Investigation shows that the resident “was found sitting in front of the wheelchair on the floor in the room with the seat belt in place after incontinence care. The batteries to the belt alarm were not functioning properly, and the resident had attempted to ambulate self after incontinence care and fell in front of the wheelchair.” A review of the hospital records dated July 24, 2018, shows that the resident had “suffered a fall in the skilled nursing facility.”
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated September 6, 2018, a state investigative team noted the nursing home's failure to “ensure dirty linen was stored [to] prevent the spread of infection.” The investigative team reviewed the facility’s Professional Standards of Practice that reads in part: “Never put clean or dirty linens on the floor.”
The investigators reviewed a resident’s Quarterly MDS (Minimum Data Set) Assessment that showed the cognitively intact resident could be interviewed. An observation was made on the morning of September 5, 2018, when “there was soiled linen that includes a bath towel and incontinence pad on the floor under the over-bed table next to the bed” in the resident’s room.
The surveyors state that the “linen was not visually soiled with dark yellow rings on the linens.” The resident stated that they “had an incontinent episode during the night and the Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) pitched the linens on the floor and did not pick them up and carry them out of the room.”
The resident also said that they “did not like the soiled linens on the floor and would like them to be removed.” The surveyors interviewed the Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) concerning “the linen observed lying on the floor” that morning and later in the afternoon at 4:00 PM.
The CNA stated that a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) had told her to take the resident’s “breakfast tray into the room and to take the tray back to the cart and remove the soiled linens from the floor of the resident’s room [before] taking the resident’s food tray in the room. She stated she keeps bags on her and placed the soiled linens into the bags and placed the bags in the dirty utility room.” The CNA revealed that “soiled linen should be placed in a plastic bag and taken to the dirty utility room.”
During an interview with the Travel LPN Nurse that afternoon, it was revealed that “the facility policy is to place soiled linens into a bag and dispose of in the soiled utility room. She revealed soiled linens are never to be placed on the floor [because] it is an infection control problem if soiled linens are placed on the floor and she asked the CNA to remove the soiled linens that morning.”
During an interview with the Assistant Director of Nursing and the infection control nurse on September 6, 2018, it was revealed that “soiled linen placed on the floor is unacceptable. She stated all soiled linen should be bagged and taken out of the room.”
The facility Director of Nursing revealed that “the resident may have removed them him/herself and left them on the floor. She stated the facility policy mandates soiled linens are to be placed in a plastic bag immediately and then removed from the resident, then should be taken to the soiled utility room when leaving the resident’s room.”
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated July 7, 2017, the state investigator documented the facility’s failure to “notify the resident’s representative when there is a significant change in condition and the need to transfer the resident.” The nursing home also failed to “notify the resident’s daughter when he/she had a significant change in condition which requires a transfer to the hospital.” The investigative team reviewed the facility’s policy titled: Notification Requirements that reads in part:
“It is the policy of this facility to notify the resident, his or her attending Physician, and representative of changes in the resident’s condition.”
“The facility should notify the resident’s attending Physician and representative when:
The investigators reviewed the resident’s Nurse’s Notes documented by the Director of Nursing. The notes revealed that the resident “was sent out to the hospital” for “respiratory distress and admitted for acute exacerbation [worsening].” The surveyors stated that there was “no documented evidence that the resident’s daughter was made aware of a change in condition or the transfer” to the hospital.
The surveyors interviewed the resident’s daughter who revealed that “she did not receive a phone call from the facility when [their loved one] was transferred to the hospital. However, [the resident’s daughter] did receive a call from the hospital around 2:00 AM for consent to treat. She stated the Nurse Practitioner called her and told her the report from the facility was [that the resident] was unresponsive and the facility did cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).”
The surveyors interviewed in Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) who revealed that “someone called 911 and [a Registered Nurse] called the Physician.” The LPN said that “she only talked to the Unit Manager [and] did not call the daughter or family.” The facility Director of Nursing revealed that “the daughter told the hospital she was not notified [when her loved one] was sent to the hospital by the facility. The Director of Nursing stated that she was not able to find any documentation that the daughter was notified, and it should be in the chart.”
The facility Administrator said that “the family has to be notified about a change of condition and transfer” out of the facility.
Was your loved one the victim of abuse, mistreatment or neglect while living at Bradford Heights Health and Rehabilitation Center? If so, contact the Kentucky nursing home abuse lawyers at Nursing Home Law Center at (800) 926-7565 now for immediate legal intervention. Our network of attorneys fights aggressively on behalf of Christian County victims of mistreatment living in long-term facilities including nursing homes in Hopkinsville. Contact us now to schedule a free case review to discuss how to obtain justice and resolve a financial compensation claim.
Our knowledgeable attorneys can offer legal assistance on your behalf to ensure your case for financial compensation is successfully resolved against every party that caused your loved one harm. We accept every nursing home neglect case, wrongful death lawsuit, personal injury claim for compensation through a contingency fee arrangement. This agreement postpones the requirement to make a payment to our network of attorneys until after we have successfully resolved your claim for compensation 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 start on your case today to ensure you receive compensation for your damages. All information you share with our law offices will remain confidential.
Sources:
Attorney Carey Acerra
Licensed in Kentucky
Chicago Nursing Home Injury Lawyer Nursing Home Law Center LLC Home