When a family makes the ultimate decision to place a loved one in a nursing facility to maximize their quality of life, they have the right to expect that the professional staff will provide the highest level of quality care in a respected, compassionate environment. However, when the nursing team fails to uphold their responsibility in taking care of the resident, the victim often suffers from mistreatment. If your loved one suffered physical, emotional, mental or sexual abuse or neglect at the hands of their caregivers, it is critical to speak with a knowledgeable attorney to discuss how to handle your case. The Arkansas nursing home neglect attorneys have represented many injured victims in Benton County to ensure the family receives financial recompense for their damages. Let us begin working on your case today.
This long-term care facility is a 102-certified bed "for profit" home providing services and cares to residents of Bella Vista and Benton County, Arkansas. The center is located at:
7 Professional Drive
Bella Vista, Arkansas, 72714
(479) 855-3735
Both the federal government and the state of Arkansas have the legal responsibility to levy monetary fines or deny payments through Medicare if a nursing home has violated established rules and regulations that harm or could have harmed residents. Within the last three years, investigators fined Concordia Nursing and Rehabilitation Center on two occasions including an $11,375 fine on March 21, 2016, and an $11,193 fine on September 14, 2016. The facility was also denied payment for Medicare services on March 21, 2016, due to substandard care and received three formally filed complaints over the last thirty-six months. Additional documentation about fines and penalties can be found on the Arkansas Adult Protective Services website concerning this nursing home.
To be fully informed on the level of care nursing homes provide, families routinely research the Arkansas Department of Public Health and Medicare.gov database systems for a complete list of dangerous hazards, filed complaints, opened investigations, safety concerns, incident inquiries, and health violations. This information provides valuable content to make a well-informed decision of where to place a loved one who requires the highest level of hygiene assistance and health care.
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 one out of five stars for quality measures. The Benton County neglect attorneys at Nursing Home Law Center have found serious deficiencies, violations and safety concerns at Concordia Nursing and Rehabilitation Center that include:
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated December 15, 2016, the state investigator documented a deficient practice. There notation involved a failure to "ensure Percutaneous Endoscopic Gastronomy (PEG) feeding tube placement was verified [before] the initiation of an enteral formula and the head of the bed was elevated to at least 30° during enteral feeding's, as part of the plan of care, to decrease the potential for aspiration" and other tube-related complications. A review of the resident's Brief Interview of Mental Status revealed that the resident "is dependent on staff for Activities of Daily Living [and] dependent on tube feeding for nutrition."
On the afternoon of December 12, 2016, "a small group of nurses in the nursing supervisor entered [the resident's] room. The nursing supervisor was providing education and familiarizing the nurses with the use of an enteral feeding pump and how the feeding pump operated for the gastronomy tube feeding. After instruction was completed on the operation of the pump, the tubing was handed to the Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) by the nursing supervisor, and the other nurses exited the resident's room." The surveyor observed the LPN connecting "the feeding tube to the resident's PEG tube site and turned the feeding pump on. The nutritional supplement, which was connected to the gastronomy tubing, began infusing. Placement of the gastronomy tube was not verified [before] connecting the nutritional tubing to the site and initiating the flow of the feeding to the gastronomy site."
Even though the bed was to remain at a 30° angle to ensure safety for the resident during enteral feeding, two Certified Nursing Assistants (CNAs) entered the room to provide incontinent care to the resident; one CNA "lowered the head of the resident's bed to a flat position to provide care. The tube feeding continued infusing enteral formula at 40 mL per hour, with the resident lying flat." A few minutes later "upon completion of the incontinent care, [both certified nursing assistants] elevated the head of the bed to approximately 35°."
The following morning, the investigator asked the LPN [the nursing supervisor] "if nurses were supposed to check for placement of feeding tubes [before] initiating infusion of enteral formula." The LPN replied, "Yes." The investigator then asked the supervisor if Certified Nursing Assistants "were supposed to lower the head of the resident's bed to a flat position and provide care would tube feeding running." The LPN replied "no."
The investigator interviewed the facility Director of Nurses who "was asked if nurses were expected to check the placement of the PEG tube before starting the infusion of nutritional supplement." The Director replied, "Yes." When asked "of Aides were supposed to lower the head of the resident's bed to a flat position to provide care when the two feeding is infusing," the Director replied, "no." The investigator then asked the LPN providing the resident care "if she checked placement [before] starting the tube feeding for [the resident] on December 4, 2016." That LPN replied, "No."
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated December 15, 2016, a notation was made by the state surveyor regarding the nursing home's failure to "ensure only clean gastronomy tubing was utilized to administer enteral formula to decrease the potential for the spread of disease and infection." The investigator documented that "this failed practice has the potential to affect three residents who have physician's orders."
The state investigator observed a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) on the morning of December 13, 2016, who "was disconnecting the tubing for the resident's Percutaneous Endoscopic Gastronomy feeding to administer medication." The LPN handled the feeding pump "but allowed the gastronomy tubing to fall onto the fall mat, which was partially under the resident's bed. The tubing was on the fall mat for approximately three minutes, allowing enteral feeding contents in the tubing to drip onto the fall mat. After administering the medications and water flushes to the resident, [the LPN] picked the tubing up off the floor mat and connected the tubing to the resident's PEG site." During meeting between the investigator and the Assistant Director of Nurses, the Assistant Director "was asked what a nurse should do if the end of the gastronomy tubing that had no protective cap touch the ground." The Assistant Director responded that "She should stop the feeding and get new tubing."
In a separate summary statement of deficiencies dated November 13, 2015, the state investigator team documented the facility's failure "to ensure multi-resident use glucometers were disinfected between the use of different residents to prevent the potential spread of infection." The deficient practice by the nursing staff involved to residents "who required glucose monitoring and resided on the East Hall. The failed practice has the potential to affect to residents who resided on the East Hall and required blood glucose monitoring, according to a list provided by the Assistant Director of Nurses."
An observation was made of a Licensed Practical Nurse using a "glucometer to check the resident's blood glucose. The LPN did not clean or disinfect the glucometer [before] use. After the test was completed, the LPN placed the meter [in the] medication cart without first disinfecting it." Further observation revealed that the "LPN did not disinfect the glucometer before or after using" the device on another resident. The investigator asked the Assistant Director of Nurses "what the facility's protocol was for disinfecting the glucometers." The Assistant Director responded, "We have these wipes, CALIWIPES, that we wipe them down and then let them dry about five minutes every time after using the glucometers."
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated March 21, 2016, the state investigator documented the facility's failure to "ensure necessary treatment and services were provided to promote healing and prevent potential infection of non-pressure-related wounds." The deficient practice by the nursing staff involved a failure "to ensure wound treatments were discussed with and approved by the physician [before] treatment to ensure the appropriate wound treatments were being provided at the appropriate frequency to promote healing."
The investigators also noted the facility's failure "to ensure licensed nurses followed clean techniques and nursing standards of practice during wound treatments, to prevent potential infection or deterioration of the wounds." The deficient practice involved one resident "who had non-pressure related wounds." However, "these failed practices had the potential to affect 11 residents who had non-pressure-related wounds" at the facility.
It was also documented that the facility had "failed to ensure the necessary care and services were provided for urinary catheter maintenance" and failed to "ensure the catheter drainage bag and tubing were kept [below] the level of the bladder at all times to facilitate drainage and minimize the potential for urinary tract infection [UTI]." The Nursing Home also failed "to ensure a contaminated urinary drainage tubing was properly cleaned or replaced and the catheter insertion site and tubing were cleansed during catheter care to decrease the potential for infection." It was noted that "the failed practices had the potential to affect four residents who had indwelling urinary catheters."
If you have any suspicions that your loved one as a resident in Concordia Nursing and Rehab has been abused, neglected or mistreated, take steps now by contacting the Arkansas nursing home abuse attorneys at Nursing Home Law Center at (800) 926-7565. Our network of attorneys fights aggressively on behalf of Benton County victims of mistreatment living in long-term facilities including nursing homes in Bella Vista. Our skilled attorneys can work on your family's behalf to successfully resolve your financial recompense claim against all those who caused your loved one's harm. We file cases against nursing homes, medical centers, doctors and nursing staff. Contact us now to schedule a free case review to discuss how to obtain justice and resolve a financial compensation claim. Let us fight aggressively on your behalf to ensure your rights are protected.
We accept all nursing home cases involving personal injury, abuse, and wrongful death through a contingency fee agreement. This arrangement postpones the need to make a payment to pay for legal services until after your case is successfully resolved through a jury trial award or negotiated out of court settlement. We provide each client a "No Win/No-Fee" Guarantee, meaning you owe us nothing if we cannot obtain compensation for your damages. We can begin representing you in your case today to ensure you receive adequate compensation for your losses. All information you share with our law offices will remain confidential.
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