When families make the ultimate decision that they must place a loved one in a nursing home, they are overwhelmed at the research that needs to be done to ensure they receive the best care in a compassionate, safe environment. Unfortunately, many nursing homes fail to uphold their responsibility to provide care according to acceptable standards. Many nursing home patients become the victim of mental, emotional or physical abuse or sexual assault at the hands of caregivers.
If your loved one was harmed or died unexpectedly while residing in a Washington County nursing facility, the Illinois Nursing Home Law Center attorneys can provide immediate legal intervention. Let our team of lawyers work on your behalf to ensure you are adequately financially compensated for your damages. Call us now so we can begin working on your case today.
This long-term care (LTC) home is a "for profit" 120-certified bed center providing cares and services to residents of Nashville and Washington County, Illinois. The Medicare/Medicaid-participating facility is located at:
485 South Friendship Drive
Nashville, Illinois, 62263
(618) 327-3041
In addition to providing around-the-clock skilled nursing care, Friendship Manor Rehab and Health Care Center also offers other services including:
The state of Illinois and the federal government have a legal responsibility of monitoring every nursing home. These agencies have the authority to impose monetary penalties or hold payment from Medicare if the nursing facility has violated rules and regulations. Typically, the more serious the violation, the higher the monetary fines, especially if neglect or abuse caused harm or could have caused harm to a resident.
Over the last three years, surveyors imposed two substantial monetary fines against Friendship Manor Health Care Center including a $15,174 fine on November 17, 2017, and a $1991 fine on December 1, 2016. The facility also received three formally filed complaints due to substandard care 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 ensure families are fully informed of the level of care every nursing home provides, the state of Illinois and Medicare.gov routinely update their long-term care home database system. This information reflects a complete list of dangerous hazards, safety concerns, health violations, incident inquiries, opened investigations, and filed complaints that can be found on numerous sites including IL Department of Public Health.
According to Medicare, this facility maintains an overall rating of one out of five stars, including two out of five stars concerning health inspections, two out of five stars for staffing issues and one out of five stars for quality measures. The Washington County neglect attorneys at Nursing Home Law Center have found serious deficiencies and safety concerns at Friendship Manor Health Care Center that include:
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated October 10, 2018, the state investigators documented that the facility had failed to “provide turning and repositioning and pressure relief for one of four residents reviewed for pressure ulcer risks.” The surveyors reviewed the resident’s MDS (Minimum Data Set) that reveals the patient is in part “severely impaired with cognitive skills for decision-making. The MDS also documents that [the patient] is a total assist for activities of daily living.”
The surveyors observed the resident between 8:56 AM and 10:52 AM on October 5, 2018, while the resident “remained in the same position on [their] back to left side without the benefit of being repositioned based on 15 minute or less observation intervals.”
At 10:52 AM, a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) “entered the room and stated to [the patient], I am here to reposition you.” At 2:01 PM the same day, a Registered Nurse (RN) said, “I get on them to make sure that she is turned every 1.5 hours, but I will re-educate the staff to know that they need to reposition her off [her] back to [her] side.”
The investigators reviewed the facility’s log titled: Pressure Ulcer Cumulative Report that shows documentation of June 13, 2018, where the resident had a Right Outer Upper Foot 1.5 cm x 1.5 cm” pressure ulcer. By July 30, 2018, the resident’s pressure ulcer now measured 0.8 cm x 0.5 cm. However, by July 20, 2018, the pressure ulcer grew in size to 2.0 cm x 1.0 cm and then changed again by September 24, 2018, when it measured 1.0 cm x 1.5 cm.
The investigators reviewed the resident’s Care Plan dated August 16, 2018, that says that the resident has a “potential for skin breakdown. Interventions: turn from back to the right side while in bed reposition every 1.5 hours.” The survey team reviewed the facility’s policy titled: Repositioning approved in 2013 that reads in part:
“The purpose of this procedure is to provide guidelines for the evaluation of the resident repositioning needs, to aid in the development of an Individualized Care Plan for repositioning, to promote circulation and provide pressure relief for residents.”
“Repositioning is a common, effective intervention for preventing skin breakdown, promoting circulation, and providing pressure relief.”
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated October 10, 2018, the state investigators documented that the facility had failed to “develop and implement interventions to prevent accidents and falls.” The deficient practice by the nursing staff involved four residents “reviewed for accidents.”
The investigative team reviewed the Resident Event Investigation Reports that documents that the resident had nine falls in the facility between December 28, 2017, and August 10, 2018. A review of the resident’s Care Plan revealed that the patient “is at risk for falls. Goal: Resident will have no falls with injuries through the next review dated September 1, 2018. Interventions: Keep call light within reach at all times and answer timely. Remind resident to ask for assistance as needed. Monitor for change in mental status. Reported document changes.”
In a separate incident, another resident’s Event Report documents for falls occurring between March 22, 2018, and August 23, 2018. This resident’s Care Plan revealed that the resident “is at risk for a history of falls. Right knee and hip pain, cognitive deficit, antipsychotic medication use. Goal: resident will have no falls with an injury next review. Interventions: Maintain adequate lighting. Keep call light within reach at all times and answer timely. Remind resident as for assistance as needed. Monitor for a change in mental status.”
A review of this resident’s Orderly Fall assessment reads “assist with activities of daily living as needed – wear appropriate footwear. Offer rest periods with snacks – mat as needed. Monitor signs and symptoms of infection, wandering checks, refer to physical therapy/Occupational Therapy as needed. Encourage out of room activities, follow facility fall protocol, may participate in restorative if indicated lab/tests as ordered.”
A third resident’s Event Report documents six falls occurring between May 21, 2018, and November 22, 2018. The report reveals that the resident “was sitting on the floor by the couch in the television room. Alarm chair, seatbelt still attached not ringing.” The resident’s “Care Plan dated September 18, 2018 documents in part that the resident is at risk for a fracture/injury/pain” due to the medical diagnosis. The nursing staff goal is to have the resident experience no injuries. “The effectiveness of the interventions is not monitored or modified as necessary for [all three residents].”
The state investigators interviewed the fourth resident at risk for falls who said on October 3, 2018, “I am supposed to have a mat on the floor, but they have never brought it in.” The surveyors observed this resident on October 3, 2018, at 12:54 PM and again on October 9, 2018, at 11:59 AM while lying in bed. “The floor mat was observed folded up under the television, not beside [the patient’s] bed.” A review of the resident’s Fall Risk Assessment documents the resident has a score of ten that indicates they are “a high risk for falls.”
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated October 10, 2018, a state survey team noted the nursing home's failure to “adequately develop an ongoing infection control program that adequately collects data that calculates and analyzes infection rates.” The Nursing Home also “failed to operationalize infection control policies to adequately define infection control practice in the facility.” This failure “has the potential to affect all eighty residents living in the facility.”
The surveyors reviewed the facility’s Infection Control Log that documents a “total of twenty-one residents receiving antibiotics and thirteen of these residents receive antibiotics without a cultured organism documented on the log.” The investigators interviewed the facility Director of Nursing on October 9, 2018, who said that “I can tell you that there is no culture of any of these wounds.”
The Director stated during that meeting that “when a resident is admitted to the facility from the hospital, they do not write the culture results are organism on the facility infection control log. It may not be in the log, but it is in the chart somewhere.” The surveyor said that “based on observation, interview and record review, the facility failed to provide hand hygiene to prevent the spread of infection for four of thirty-one residents reviewed for infection control practices.”
The Housekeeping Supervisor was observed on the morning of October 4, 2018, while standing in a resident’s room “without any protective gear.” The Supervisor “was sitting on the register in the room and also closed the bathroom door then reached into her pocket pulling out of ten and paper.” The resident’s “room was a designated isolation room with isolation equipment on the outside of the door.”
The Housekeeping Supervisor exited the patient’s “room without handwashing on October 4, 2018, at 8:16 AM and walked down the hall rubbing her eyes and entered [another resident’s] room.” The Supervisor stated during an interview that “I did not wash my hands before I left the room. I should have, and I should have warned protective gear.”
Surveyors observed a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) on October 5, 2018, performing “incontinent care without changing gloves for [a patient].” At that time, the CNA said that the patient’s “brief was soaked with urine.” Two minutes later, surveyors observed the CNA assisting the patient “on a sit to stand [procedure], wearing contaminated gloves.” The CNA “removed gloves, put linen on the ‘sit to stand,” left the room without washing hands, put the mat on the floor and pushed the sit to stand [device] into the hall.”
The investigators interviewed the facility Administrator who said that “I expect staff to follow isolation precautions when entering an isolation room.” The surveyors reviewed the facility’s policy titled: Infection Control Guidelines that reads in part:
“A transmission-based precaution will be used whenever the measure is more stringent than standard precautions are needed to prevent the spread of infection.”
“Employees must wash her hands for ten to fifteen seconds using antimicrobial and non-antimicrobial soap and water… Before and after direct contact with residents; when hands are visibly dirtier soiled with blood or other bodily fluids; in most situations, the preferred method of hand hygiene is with alcohol-based hand rub.”
Was your loved one injured or die prematurely while a resident at Friendship Manor Health Care Center? If so, call the Illinois nursing home abuse and neglect attorneys at Nursing Home Law Center at (800) 926-7565 now for legal help. Our network of attorneys fights aggressively on behalf of Washington County victims of mistreatment living in long-term facilities including nursing homes in Nashville. Contact us now to schedule a free case review to discuss how to obtain justice and resolve a financial compensation claim.
Our nursing home abuse attorneys can represent your loved one injured by the inappropriate actions of the facility and staff. Our network of attorneys will work on your behalf to ensure your family receives sufficient financial compensation to recover your damages. We accept every case concerning wrongful death, nursing home abuse, and personal injury through a contingency fee agreement. This arrangement will postpone the need to make a payment for our legal services until after our attorneys have resolved your case through a jury trial award or negotiated out of court settlement.
We offer all clients a “No Win/No-Fee” Guarantee. This promise ensures your family will owe us nothing if we cannot obtain compensation to recover your damages. We can begin representing you in your case today to ensure you receive adequate 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