Families entrust nursing home caregivers with providing care to their loved one in a compassionate, safe environment. The staff is given the responsibility to ensure that the health and well-being of every resident are maintained. Unfortunately, there are often serious signs of mistreatment, abuse or neglect occurring to patients in nursing facilities nationwide.
The Illinois Nursing Home Law Center attorneys fight aggressively on behalf of our clients to stand up for what is right and take legal action and hold negligent caregivers financially responsible for their inappropriate behavior. If your loved one has been mistreated at Arbour Health Care Center, contact our Chicago nursing home abuse lawyers. Let us begin working on your case today to stop the harm against your loved one.
This long-term care (LTC) home is a 204-certified bed center providing cares and services to residents of Chicago and Cook County, Illinois. The Medicare/Medicaid-participating" for profit" facility is located at:
4314 South Wabash Avenue
Chicago, Illinois, 60653
(773) 538-8300
In addition to providing 24/7 skilled nursing care, Community Care Center also offers:
The investigators for Medicare and the state of Illinois have the legal authority to impose monetary fines. The agencies can also deny payment for Medicare services any time a nursing home is cited for serious violations of regulations and rules. Within the last three years, Community Care Center receive fifty-nine formally filed complaints and self-reported four serious issues that all resulted in citations.
Also, Medicare denied payment for services on April 28, 2017, due to substandard care. Additional documentation about fines and penalties can be found on the Illinois Department of Public Health Nursing Home Reporting Website concerning this nursing facility.
Comprehensive research results can be reviewed on the Illinois Department of Public Health and Medicare.gov nursing home database systems. These sites detail all filed complaints, opened investigations, safety concerns, incident inquiries, health violations, and dangerous hazards. Many families use this information to determine the level of medical, health 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, one out of five stars for staffing issues and four 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 Community Care Center that include:
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated August 24, 2017, the state investigator noted the facility's failure to "follow their Abuse Policy and investigate an allegation of theft for one resident reviewed for an allegation of theft.” The surveyors attempted to make telephone contact with the resident regarding “a theft allegation.” However, a family member indicated that the resident “had expired.”
The investigative team reviewed the Grievance Law and Resident Council Records over the previous six months. Both reports did not indicate any evidence of a reported theft concerning that resident.” The investigators interviewed the facility Administrator who said: “she remembers [the resident] being irate and enraged about two missing smartwatches.” The Administrator said that she had not conducted a formal investigation and said that the resident “was exhibiting drug-seeking behaviors.” The Administrator said that they were convinced that “the investigation was not warranted.”
During the interview, the Psychiatric Rehabilitation Service Coordinator said that they remembered the resident “being upset about his watches and began yelling profanity about his watches being stolen and that someone was going to pay for them.” The Administrator said that “the plan was to repay [the resident], but when asked for a receipt, he produced 4-year-old receipt unrelated to a watch of any kind.” The investigators asked the Coordinator “about the outcome of the investigation into [the resident’s] smartwatches.” The Coordinator replied, “I am not sure my responsibility is to inform [the Administrator] of the theft, which I did.”
The investigators then asked the Administrator “about the investigation into [the resident’s] allegation of theft for which she replied, ‘it is my fault I did not investigate the allegation of theft for [the resident].’” The investigators then reviewed the facility’s Abuse Prevention Program Policy that reads in part:
“Internal Reporting Requirements and Identification of Allegations: Employees are required to report any incident/allegation or suspicion of potential abuse, neglect, exploitation, mistreatment or misappropriation of resident property.”
“Internal Investigation: Any incident or allegation involving abuse, neglect, Neglect, exploitation, mistreatment or misappropriation of resident property will result in an investigation.”
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated August 24, 2017, a surveyor noted the nursing home's failure to “follow the contact isolation policy and ensure staff or personal protective equipment [PPE] when entering the contact isolation room.” The deficient practice by the nursing staff involved one resident “reviewed for contact isolation.”
The survey team observed Third Floor residents on the morning of August 23, 2017 and saw a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) “going into the room of [a resident] and came out of the room without a protective gown or gloves.” The CNA “came out of the isolation room without washing her hands. An isolation cart that contains PPE was available by the entrance door of the room.”
The surveyors asked the CNA “why she did not wear any PPE or wash her hands before coming out of the isolation room.” The CNA replied that “she was not aware that the room was an isolation room.”
The surveyors interviewed the resident’s nurse who said that the resident “was on isolation for [highly contagious] Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) of the right lower leg.” The nurse further said that “she sent a swab for culture for [the resident] and they were still waiting for the result.”
The survey team then interviewed the Infection Control Nurse/Assistant Director of Nursing later that day who said that the resident “is on contact isolation.” The Assistant Director said, “I put him on isolation the day he came back from the hospital [and that] all staff should wear gowns and gloves to enter the room.” The surveyors reviewed the facility’s policy titled: Personal Protective Equipment that reads in part:
“It is the facility’s responsibility to ensure that the appropriate PPE is readily accessible and that employees use it.”
“Contact precautions may be considered for residents who have” contagious infections including Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated May 23, 2018, the state survey team noted that the nursing home had “failed to prevent abuse for one of three residents reviewed for abuse.” The facility Abuse Investigation dated January 20 for 2018 shows that abuse “was reported by a staff member” involving one resident slapping another resident in a resident-to-resident altercation.
The documentation shows that “after conducting interviews with staff and residents and reviewing medical records, the following was understood: [One resident] was getting loud and making noise. Another resident “was getting agitated from the noise being made by [the first resident].”
The documentation shows that “a nearby resident told [the second resident] to slap [the loud resident] to make her shut up.” It was then that the loud resident approach the second resident who then slap the loud resident “in the face.”
A member of the nursing staff said that at 11:00 AM on made a 2018 one patient “was having a loud outburst. Another patient told [a second resident] to slap [the loud resident] in the face. He slapped [the loud resident] in the face two times. The staff intervened about the incident.” A Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) was “ discharged because of the incident. She failed to stop the aggressive behavior between the two residents as it was happening.”
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated May 23, 2018, the state surveyors noted that the nursing facility had “failed to immediately assess a resident for an injury after a fall, which delayed the treatment” for their injuries. As a result, the resident “was left in severe pain over a long period of time before he was sent out for evaluation at the local hospital.”
The resident’s medical records revealed that the patient “is nonverbal and not able to make his needs known.” A review of the facility Fall Investigation Report dated November 21, 2017, shows that the patient “was noted with right upper extremity (fine) warm to the touch, swelling, shortness noted to the right lower extremity, upon assessment, the resident was noted with facial grimacing when the area is touched.”
The facility’s x-ray revealed that there was a right femur impacted intertrochanteric fracture of the right femur “was some varus [oblique limb displacement] deformity.” The resident was “sent to the hospital for evaluation and treatment [and required] surgery to treat the fracture.”
The documentation shows that the resident “did not return to the facility. This [incident] was considered an unwitnessed fall. The report implies [that the resident] had crawled back into his bed after he fell.”
The investigative team interviewed the facility Administrator who said that after completion of the investigation it was revealed that the resident’s “injury was due from a fall from his bed.” The surveyor asked, “how did the [resident] get back into bed?” The Administrator replied that they were “unable to explain how the resident got back into bed.”
A facility report shows that a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) “discovered the injury, was informed by another CNA that [the resident] was a ‘total care’ and needs to be fed as well.” The report shows that the resident “was in bed and when the CNA pulled the sheets back… discovered the injury. This report further states that when the investigation was completed, it was noted that the previous 11:00 PM – 7:00 AM nurse and CNA failed to do a proper, appropriate head to toe assessment of the resident on that particular day of November 21, 2017. They did not notice the resident was injured. Both the nurse and the CNA received disciplinary actions which included a three-day suspension [and a] final warning.”
The resident’s attending physician stated during an interview that “this type of fracture [that the resident experienced] is caused by a fall 99% of the time.” The doctor says that the resident could have experienced a fall because of their medical condition or [he forgot he could walk and try to get up. It is unlikely that a resident with a fracture could get himself back into bed. As far as pain, this fracture is very painful; it could have been a nine on a scale of one to ten.”
The doctor also said that the resident “had dementia (frontal, temporal lobe) and was nonverbal.” The patient “could not verbalize he was in pain. No one could have moved him without him having some reaction to the pain.”
Do you believe that your loved one suffered injury or harm while living at Community Care Center? If so, call the 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 Chicago. Contact us now to schedule a free case review to discuss how to obtain justice and resolve a monetary recovery claim.
Our reputable attorneys working on your behalf can successfully resolve your nursing home abuse victim case against the facility and staff members that caused your loved one harm. We accept every case concerning wrongful death, nursing home abuse, and personal injury through a contingency fee agreement. This arrangement 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.
We provide every client a “No Win/No-Fee” Guarantee, meaning if we are unable to obtain compensation on your behalf, you owe our legal team nothing. We can provide legal representation starting today to ensure your family is adequately compensated for your damages. 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