Not all cases of mistreatment occurring in nursing homes are obvious to family members and friends. While some loved ones might be the victim of physical abuse or an unwitnessed fall, others are sexually assaulted or harmed through substandard care that leads to preventable bedsores, malnourishment or dehydration.
If your loved one was abused or neglected while living in a Lee County nursing facility, contact the Illinois Nursing Home Law Center attorneys for immediate legal intervention. Our team of Chicago nursing home negligence lawyers has successfully resolved many cases just like yours. Call us now so we can begin working on your case today. Let us protect your rights to ensure your family is financially compensated for your damages.
This facility is a 132-certified bed "for profit" long-term care home providing services and cares to residents of Franklin Grove and Lee County, Illinois. The Medicare/Medicaid-participating long-term care (LTC) center is located at:
502 North State Street
Franklin Grove, Illinois, 61031
(815) 456-2374
In addition to providing around-the-clock skilled nursing care, Franklin Grove Living and Rehab Center also offers:
Medicare has labeled Franklin Grove Living and Rehabilitation Center as a Special Focus Facility (SSF) because of persistently substandard quality of care as determined by federal and state inspection teams. This designation by government agencies means that the nursing home is subjected to more frequent surveys and inspections, escalating monetary penalties and the potential of being terminated from Medicaid and Medicare.
The federal government and the state of Illinois are authorized to penalize any nursing home with monetary fines or deny payment for Medicare services when the facility has been cited for serious violations of rules and regulations. Within the last three years, investigators have imposed two serious monetary penalties against Franklin Grove Living and Rehabilitation Center (SFF) due to substandard care. These monetary penalties include an $8125 fine on August 3, 2017, and an $80,835 fine on June 17, 2016, for a total of $88,960.
The facility also received sixteen formally filed complaints and self-reported one serious issue that all resulted in citations. Additional information about fines and penalties can be found on the Illinois Department of Public Health Nursing Home Reporting Website concerning this nursing facility.
To be fully informed on the level of care nursing homes provide, families routinely research the Illinois Department of Public Health and Medicare.gov database systems. These sites provide a complete list of filed complaints, dangerous hazards, health violations, safety concerns, incident inquiries, and opened investigations. 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 assistance.
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 Lee County neglect attorneys at Nursing Home Law Center have found serious deficiencies and safety concerns at Franklin Grove Living and Rehabilitation Center (SFF) that include:
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated January 11, 2018, the state investigators documented that the facility had failed to “report, assess and prevent, and provide treatment of [bedsores].” The deficient practice by the nursing staff affected five residents “reviewed for pressure ulcers.” One incident involved a resident with a Braden scale pressure sore risk factor that shows the patient “is at risk for developing pressure ulcers.”
On January 8, 2011, a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) “provided incontinence care to [a resident, who had] an open area to [their] right gluteal fold and a reddened area to [their] right groin area.” The CNA “placed the dressing over [the resident’s] open area on the right groin.” That CNA said that all Certified Nursing Aides “are placing a dressing over [the resident’s] open area to the right groin.”
The investigators interviewed a Registered Nurse providing the resident care who said that they were “not aware of any open skin areas on [the resident]. Later that day, a wound nurse assess the resident’s “open area is to the right groin and the right buttock.”
The Wound Nurse assessed the resident’s open areas to the right groin and right buttock. The right groin/thigh open area measured 0.5 cm x 0.8 cm. The right buttock open area measured 1.5 cm x 0.5 cm. The Wound Nurse said that the resident “has two facility-acquired pressure ulcers” and that “the staff did not report this to the nursing. Staff should report any open area is to [the nursing staff].”
The investigators reviewed a resident’s Skin Check Sheet that shows that the resident “refused a shower. There is no mention of a reddened, painful heel or any documentation that a skin assessment was completed.” The investigators reviewed the facility’s policy titled: Ongoing Skin Condition that reads in part: “CNAs are to fill out skin checks for all residents on their shower day.”
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated January 11, 2018, the state survey team documented that the facility had failed to “safely transfer a resident.” The incident involved a patient who “is a total dependent with a two-person assist for transfers [and has] a limited range of motion to one side affecting [their] upper and lower extremities.” The resident’s Fall Risk Assessment revealed that the resident “is a high risk of falls.”
Documentation revealed that two Certified Nursing Aides (CNAs) transferred the resident “from the wheelchair to the toilet.” Both Certified Nursing Assistants lifted the resident under their arms without the resident’s feet “bearing weight on the floor. After [the resident] was toileted, one CNA assisted the resident in a standing position.”
At that time, the resident stood on the right leg, and the right arm was positioned behind the CAN’s neck before being transferred to the wheelchair. The CNA confirmed that the resident “is a two-person assist with transfers [and] can only bear weight on [their] right leg.”
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated January 11, 2018, a state investigative surveyor noted the nursing home's failure to “prevent cross-contamination while providing incontinence care and failed to ensure proper hand washing.” The deficient practice of the nursing staff applied to two residents “reviewed for infection control.”
Observations were made of two Certified Nursing Aides (CNAs) providing peri-care to [a resident].” One CNA cleansed stool from the resident’s “backside then wiped from front to back in of repeated motion. With the same contaminated gloves, [the same CNA] applied cream to the resident’s bottom and touched multiple surfaces (new incontinence brief, [the resident’s] clothing, skin, Hoyer sling, and lift) and transferred [the resident] back to the wheelchair.
In a separate incident, another resident was assisted “off the toilet.” A third CNA “placed the glove only to [their] right hand and cleansed [the resident’s] peri-area.” The CNA then removed their glove on the right hand, rinse the right hand with only water.” The investigators interviewed a fourth CNA who said “handwashing should be done using soap and water. Female residents should be cleansed from front to back. Handwashing and glove change should be done after cleaning a soiled resident.”
The investigators reviewed the facility’s policy titled: Hand Hygiene that reads in part:
“Franklin Grove Living and Rehabilitation Center endorses the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) guideline Hand Hygiene and Health Care Setting recommendations for hand hygiene. All employees are responsible for maintaining adequate hand hygiene by adhering to specific infection controls.”
In a separate summary statement of deficiencies dated February 23, 2018, the state investigators noted that the nursing home had “failed to use the clean technique by touching oral medication with bare hands [before] administering them.” The deficient practice by the nursing staff involved one resident “reviewed for medications.”
The surveyors observed a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) “dispensing oral medications in her bare hands twelve times for [the resident].” A different Licensed Practical Nurse revealed during an investigation that “the nurse should never touch the medications with their bare hands. During an interview with the facility Director of Nursing, it was revealed that “nurses should not be touching the oral medication with their bare hands.”
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated February 23, 2017, the state investigator documented the facility’s failure to “report significant bruising to a resident’s physician [promptly].” The deficient practice by the nursing staff applies to a moderately cognitively impaired resident “reviewed for physician notification.”
A review of the resident’s MDS (Minimum Data Set) indicates that the resident requires extensive assist with transfers. The resident has physician’s orders to receive “two blood-thinning drugs” including aspirin. During an interview, the resident stated that “he had a large bruise on his abdomen and back from the gait belt being used with him during physical therapy.” The male resident said that “he felt a pop while being walked in physical therapy last week.” The resident “lifted his shirt and a large area with purple discoloration was seen to [the patient’s] abdomen and around his back.”
The investigators interviewed the Physical Therapy Assistant who said that the resident “tends to throw his body weight around while he is being ambulated and a gait belt is used for safety.” A Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) providing the resident care stated that “she noticed the bruise [on the resident, called and] measured and notified the Administrator and [the resident’s] wife but did not notify the physician.”
During an interview with the facility’s Director of Nursing, the Director “was not able to provide any documentation showing the physician was notified” of the bruising. The Administrator stated that “the physician should be notified of any new bruising.”
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated July 24, 2018, the state investigators documented that the facility had failed to “ensure fall prevention interventions were in place and functioning for residents at risk for falling. The facility failed to conduct quarterly fall risk assessments.”
One incident involved a review of a resident’s Electronic Medical Record’s and fall risk assessment that shows that the patient is “at high risk for falls.” A resident Nursing Note shows that an Activity Aide found [the resident] lying on the right side of his body on the floor and observed blood pooling under the head.”
The resident “appears to have raised his recliner chair with the remote and attempted to walk or self-transfer. An alarm was in place but was not sounding. A sensor pad was taken out, and the Assistant Director of Nursing was notified of the pad being faulty and the need for a new one.
Was your loved one injured or die prematurely while living at Franklin Grove Living and Rehabilitation Center (SFF)? If so, call the Illinois nursing home abuse lawyers at Nursing Home Law Center at (800) 926-7565 now for legal help. Our network of attorneys fights aggressively on behalf of Lee County victims of mistreatment living in long-term facilities including nursing homes in Franklin Grove. Contact us now to schedule a free case review to discuss how to obtain justice and resolve a financial compensation claim.
Our abuse and mistreatment injury attorneys represent victims injured by neglect of the nursing staff. Our network of attorneys working on your behalf can ensure your family receives adequate financial recompense for the injuries, harm, losses, and damages your loved one has endured by others. Our lawyers accept all cases involving wrongful death, nursing home neglect, or personal injury through a contingency fee arrangement. This agreement postpones the need to pay for legal services until after we have resolved your case through a negotiated out of court settlement or jury trial award.
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 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 Lawyer Nursing Home Law Center LLC Home