If your loved one was admitted to a Winnebago County skilled nursing facility, they deserve to receive the best care in a compassionate, safe environment. Unfortunately, many nursing home patients become the victims of neglect and abuse at the hands of caregivers, visitors or other residents.
Do you suspect that your loved one was mistreated while residing in Forest City Rehabilitation and Nursing Center? If so, contact the Illinois Nursing Home Law Center Attorneys for immediate legal intervention. Our team of Chicago nursing home neglect lawyers have investigated, handled and resolved hundreds of mistreatment cases throughout the state and can help your family too. Call us now so we can begin working on your case today.
This Medicare/Medicaid-participating nursing facility is a "for profit" home providing services to residents of Rockford and Winnebago County, Illinois. The 213-certified bed long-term care center is located at:
321 Arnold Avenue
Rockford, Illinois, 61108
(815) 397-5531
In addition to providing 24/7 skilled nursing care, Forest City Rehab & Nursing Center offers other services including:
Illinois and federal government agencies have the legal responsibility of monitoring every nursing home and imposing monetary fines or denying reimbursement payments through Medicare if investigators identify serious violations and deficiencies. These penalties are typically imposed when the violation is severe and harmed or could have harmed a resident.
Within the last three years, state investigators imposed a monetary fine of $5000 against Forest City Rehabilitation and Nursing Center on April 6, 2017. Also, the facility received thirty-two formally filed complaints and self-reported one serious issue 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 download statistics from the Medicare.gov and Illinois Department of Public Health online sites. These websites detail a comprehensive historical list of all dangerous hazards, safety concerns, health violations, incident inquiries, opened investigations, and filed complaints of every nursing home statewide. The information can be used to determine the level of health, and hygiene care each community long-term care facility provides its patients.
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 two out of five stars for quality measures. The Winnebago County neglect attorneys at Nursing Home Law Center have found serious deficiencies and safety concerns at Forest City Rehabilitation and Nursing Center that include:
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated January 5, 2018, the state investigative team documented that the facility had failed to “have a physician ordered dressing and place on a pressure injury.”
The investigators observed a Wound Nurse who was “preparing to perform [a resident’s] dressing change to the left ischium pressure injury.” At that time, two Certified Nursing Aides (CNAs) rolled the resident “on her right side. There was no dressing present on the left ischium pressure injury.” One CNA said that “she did not remove the dressing and was not sure why there was dressing in place.”
The LPN/Wound Nurse said that “no one reported the dressing had come off and was not sure how long the dressing had been off.” The LPN said that the resident “should have a dressing on at all times because she loses stool and the wound could become infected.” The investigators reviewed the facility’s policy titled: Pressure Ulcer and Skin Condition Assessment that reads in part:
“It is important, however, that you let staff know if you ever see a dressing that appears to be loose or has fallen off or could get contaminated.”
In a separate summary statement of deficiencies dated November 4, 2016, the state investigators noted that the nursing home had failed to “reduce or eliminate pressure for one resident at risk for pressure injury. The facility failed to perform prescribed treatment to a stage II pressure injury as ordered by the physician.”
Surveyors observed a resident in bed “with no heel protector boots on. The left side of [the resident’s] left foot and ankle and right heel were directly on a wedge (positioning device).” The following day the patient “still did not have any heal protector boots on. The left side of [the resident’s] left foot and ankle and the right heel was directly on the wedge.”
The investigative team reviewed the resident’s Weekly Skin Alteration Review that revealed the resident “had an unstageable wound to her left outer ankle that measured 0.6 cm x 0.5 cm.” A subsequent Weekly Skin Alteration Review three weeks later showed that the resident “had a partial thickness loss wound to her left ankle that measured 2.1 cm x 2.1 cm.”
As a part of the investigation, the surveyors interviewed the Wound Care Nurse who said that the resident “should have pressure boots on and her feet should not be on anything.” The Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) providing the patient care said the resident “should have heel boots on all the time. The boots reduce pressure.”
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated January 5, 2018, the state investigators documented that the facility had failed to “provide a safe transfer for a resident.” This failure applied to one resident “reviewed for accident hazards.”
Observations were made of two Certified Nursing Aides (CNA) who “put a gait belt around [a resident] and put his reclining wheelchair next to his bed to transfer him from the chair to the bed.” The patient “was unable to stand during the transfer and was lifted to his bed.” One CNA said that the resident “does not bear any weight and should be a mechanical lift transfer.” The resident “had a scrape to his left lower leg shin area.”
The investigators interviewed the facility Director of Nursing who said “Therapy and Restorative look at the resident, and we go by everyone’s recommendations. If a resident is a two-person transfer with a gait belt, they should be able to bear weight to transfer that weight.”
The Director said that the patient “was assessed yesterday after I talked to the staff and asked them why they did not report that he did not bear weight. I do not know how long he was being transferred that way. When he was assessed, it was determined that he needed to be a mechanical lift.”
A review of the resident’s Transfer and Bed Mobility/Limited Lift Review shows that the patient “totally depends on staff for transfers.” The resident’s Care Plan reveals that the patient “showed he has poor trunk control, inability to sit up in a regular wheelchair, and weakness to bilateral lower extremities.”
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated January 5, 2018, a state surveyor noted the nursing home's failure to “prevent cross-contamination of a resident’s contact surfaces by not removing gloves and washing hands after providing incontinence care.”
Surveyors observed the patient “in bed, waiting for care to be provided.” A Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) “had her gloves on, closed the privacy curtain and opened the front of the resident’s soiled incontinence brief.” The CNA then washed the patient’s “groin and threw the soiled washcloth on the floor [before removing] the soiled bedspread and put it in a chair.” The CNA “then completely removed the resident’s soiled brief, which had a strong urine odor, and threw it in the garbage.”
A second CNA “was at the bedside to help with care [while the first CNA] washed and dried the patient’s buttocks.” That CNA “then went over to the resident’s nightstand, opened the drawer, removed the ointment and applied it to his buttocks.” The CNA “put a clean incontinence brief on the resident, removed her gloves and left the room.”
When the CNA reentered the room with clean bed linen, they “put gloves on, threw [the resident’s] bed remote on the floor and removed the soiled linen from under him.” Both CNAs “put clean linen on the resident’s bed with the dirty linen rolled up on the end of the bed.” The first CNA “lowered the bed and put the remote on the resident’s lap [before] going over to the garbage [can] and removed the can from the room after removing one can and carrying the wastebasket with her gloved hand.
The investigators interviewed the facility Director of Nursing who said, “they should change gloves when they are visibly soiled and going from dirty to clean.” The Director also said that “soiled linen should be rolled up or put in a bag and should not be put on the floor.”
The investigative team interviewed the Director of Nursing who stated that “our policy says the glucometer should be cleaned with a germicidal wipe in between every resident [to] prevent infections.” A review of the facility’s policy titled: Maintaining the Blood Glucose Meters reads in part: “the blood glucose monitor should be cleaned and disinfected between each resident test.”
Observations were made of a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) performing “a blood glucose check on [a resident].” At that time, the LPN “did not sanitize the multiuse glucometer in between the three residents.”
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated August 8, 2018, the state investigators documented that the facility had failed to “do a thorough investigation for a person-to-person incident.” This failure applies to three residents “reviewed for person-to-person incidents.”
The state investigative team said that the “Administrator is the facility’s abuse coordinator.” The investigation involves a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) who said that “all person-to-person incidents are reported as abuse to the Administrator.”
The LPN said there were concerns “discussed with the Administrator of no witness interviews, staff or residents, no evidence precipitating factors of person-to-person incidents were considered, and no real investigative notes of any kind are present.” The LPN revealed that the Administrator “said we are in the middle of a Quality Assurance Performance Improvement for the current process.”
The surveyors reviewed the person-to-person abuse investigation regarding the resident that “shows no witnesses (staff or other residents) were interviewed.” The investigative file included a copy “of the final report to the Illinois Department of Public Health.” The Administrator “printed a copy of the initial report and placed it inside for review. There were no statements, interviews or any other evidence an investigation had been done.”
The survey team documented that even though the investigative file included statements from some employees, there were no interviews conducted and “no interviews with resident witnesses. The facility was unable to provide evidence that resident witness or employee interviews regarding the incident were completed.”
A Certified Nursing Assistant said that “on the evening of the person-to-person incident between [two residents, another resident] came inside while I was at the first-floor nurse’s station and said a resident had fallen outside. I went outside and [one resident] was lying on his back with blood pooling from his head. There were about a dozen residents outside.”
The CNA said that an Activity Aide “came in to get help as I was going out and I had her get some towels.” The injured resident “was awake and talking.” An LPN “came out, and we both put pressure to [the injured resident’s] head and stayed with him. I was never asked about what happened or interviewed by anyone about the incident.”
Is your loved one the victim of abuse, mistreatment or neglect while living at Forest City Rehabilitation and Nursing Center? If so, contact the Illinois nursing home abuse and neglect lawyers at Nursing Home Law Center at (800) 926-7565 now. Our network of attorneys fights aggressively on behalf of Winnebago County victims of mistreatment living in long-term facilities including nursing homes in Rockford. Contact us now to schedule a free case review to discuss how to obtain justice and resolve a financial compensation claim.
Our seasoned attorneys represent residents who were harmed by caregiver negligence or abuse. We have years of experience in successfully resolving recompense claims to ensure our clients receive the compensation they deserve. We accept every nursing home neglect case, wrongful death lawsuit, personal injury claim for compensation through a contingency fee arrangement. This agreement postpones your need to make a payment for our legal services until after your case is successfully resolved through a negotiated out of court settlement or jury trial award.
We offer every client a “No Win/No-Fee” Guarantee. This promise ensures that you will owe us nothing if we cannot obtain compensation on your behalf. 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 Attorney Nursing Home Law Center LLC Home