Nursing homes, assisted living centers, and rehabilitation facilities have a legal and ethical responsibility to provide the best care according to established standards of quality. Unfortunately, not all nursing home professionals follow the protocols and procedures required to prevent accidents, injuries or the development of life-threatening pressure wounds.
Do you believe that your loved one was victimized through neglect, abuse or mistreatment while living in a Rock Island County nursing home? If so, contact the Illinois Nursing Home Law Center attorneys now for immediate legal intervention. Our team of nursing home negligence lawyers has successfully handled and resolved cases exactly like yours. Let us begin working on your case today to ensure your family is adequately financially compensated for your damages.
This facility is a 177-certified bed "for profit" long-term care home providing services to residents of Rock Island and Rock Island County, Illinois. The Medicare/Medicaid-participating long-term care (LTC) center is located at:
2545 24th Street
Rock Island, Illinois, 61201
(309) 788-0458
In addition to providing 24/7 skilled nursing care, Generations at Rock Island also offers other services including:
Illinois and federal agencies are duty-bound to monitor every nursing home and levy monetary fines or deny payments through Medicare when investigators identify serious violations of nursing home regulations and rules. In some cases, the nursing home receives multiple penalties if surveyors identify severe violations that harmed or could have harmed a resident.
Within the last three years, Generations at Rock Island has received twenty-two formally filed complaints due to substandard care. Additional information about fines and penalties can be found on the Illinois Department of Public Health Nursing Home Reporting Website concerning this nursing facility.
Families can visit the Illinois Department of Public Health and Medicare.gov websites to obtain a complete list of all filed complaints, opened investigations, safety concerns, incident inquiries, health violations, and dangerous hazards. The regularly updated information can be used to make a well-informed decision on which long-term care facilities in the community provide the highest level of 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, two out of five stars for staffing issues and two out of five stars for quality measures. The Rock Island County neglect attorneys at Nursing Home Law Center have found serious deficiencies and safety concerns at Generations at Rock Island that include:
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated July 20, 2018, the state investigators noted that the nursing home had failed to “ensure one resident was free from physical restraints.” The surveyors reviewed the facility’s policy titled: Physical Restraints dated February 9, 2017, that reads in part:
“Physical restraint means any manual or physical or mechanical device, equipment, or material that meets all the following criteria [that] cannot be removed easily by the resident (the resident can remove the device, in the same manner, that was applied by the facility staff).”
“Physical restraints shall be used by this facility only when it has been determined that they are required to treat the resident’s medical symptoms as a therapeutic intervention, as ordered by a physician/physician representative, and based on an overall assessment, physical restraint assessment, and the care planning process.”
The investigators interviewed the Director of Nursing who stated that there “was no overall assessment or a physical restraint assessment for the use of a bed bolster for [one resident at the facility].” On July 18, 2018, a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) laid the “resident down in bed.” The CNA “applied bolsters, one in front of the resident and one behind the resident.” The CNA said that “those bolsters are to prevent falls.”
The following day on July 19, 2018, at 9:12 AM, the resident was observed “lying in bed on their back with a bolster on each side of the hip/tight area.” In Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) “requested the resident lay feet flat and sit up.” The resident was “able to sit up momentarily.” The LPN “asked the resident to remove either one of the bolsters. The resident was unable to do so.”
The resident “kept repeating ‘I cannot get up.’” The resident was “pushing at the bolster in front of him without any movement of the bolster.”
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated July 20, 2018, the state investigator documented the facility’s failure to “notify a resident’s power of attorney of a change in their skin condition.” The investigators reviewed the facility’s policy titled: Change in Resident’s Condition or status that reads in part:
“Our facility shall promptly notify the resident, his or her attending physician, and representative of changes in the resident’s condition or status.”
The investigators reviewed the resident’s Nursing Progress Notes dated July 17, 2018, that shows a resident “noted to have a reddened area to the left buttock. Treatment put into place for preventative measures at this time, will continue to monitor.” The resident’s Weekly Skin Report documents that the patient “has a Stage II pressure ulcer to [their] left buttock with an onset date of July 17, 2018.”
The investigators interviewed the resident’s Power of Attorney who said, “I did not know [the resident] had a wound on [their] bottom.” The Wound Nurse verified that [the resident] has a Stage II pressure ulcer [to their] left buttocks. At this time, [the Wound Nurse stated that the resident’s] Power of Attorney should be notified. I did not notify [them].”
The Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) providing the resident care said that the Wound Nurse “notified me on Tuesday, July 17, 2018, of [the resident’s] wound care after it was found. I did not notify the Power of Attorney because I assumed it was already done.”
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated July 20, 2018, the state investigative team documented that the facility had failed to “prevent a pressure ulcer for one of six residents reviewed for pressure ulcers.” The investigators reviewed the facility’s policy and procedure titled: Pressure Ulcer Risk Assessment that reads in part:
“Implement a standardized plan a pressure ulcer prevention based on a reliable and valid assessment of pressure ulcer risk. All factors included in the risk assessment tool will be addressed”
“Pressure ulcer prevention measures will be instituted for all patients at risk; and based on results of the Pressure Ulcer Assessment, all residents at ‘High Risk’ for pressure ulcer development will receive a documented daily visual inspection of their skin by the Nurse or Certified Nursing Assistant delivering care.”
The investigators reviewed the resident’s Initial Observation Detail Report dated February 13, 2018, that shows that the resident is “moderate risk for skin breakdown.” The resident’s Treatment Administration Note for March 2018 “documents that skin checks began on March 9, 2018” not on March 1, 2018, when the nursing staff should have been performing and documenting the resident’s skin assessments.
The resident’s Weekly Pressure Injury Report dated April 13, 2018, revealed “a right heel deep tissue injury, 100% eschar measuring 4.2 cm x 3.5 cm with an onset date of April 13, 2018.” The report also shows a “left heel deep tissue injury, 100% eschar, measuring 3.5 cm x 3.0 cm, with an onset date of April 13, 2018.”
The investigators interviewed the Wound Nurse on July 20, 2018, who stated “I was not at work because I had surgery and when I came back, [the resident] had two pressure ulcers. They started as deep tissue injuries, but they are improving.” The Wound Nurse said that “I started him with bilateral heal boots and [medication] as a treatment, as soon as [the nursing staff] found them.”
The Wound Nurse said that when they returned to the facility, the resident “was already on an air mattress. The nurse added that “if a resident is a high risk on the Braden [score for testing skin integrity], we start them on an air mattress, turning, positioning schedule and daily skin checks.” However, the facility did not follow that protocol.
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated August 13, 2017, the state investigators documented that the facility had failed to “supervise a male resident with known behavior toward female residents. This failure resulted in [the resident] having multiple episodes of inappropriate contact with female residents and has the potential to affect four female residents” in the unit and another fourth female resident living in the dementia unit.
The male resident’s MDS (Minimum Data Set) shows that the patient is “ambulatory independently.” The Care Plan for the resident documents that the patient has certain behaviors including expressing “affection for female peers by saying ‘I love you, babe’ frequently, touching/poking her shoulder or arm, waiving or kissing them on the mouth.” The documentation shows that the male resident “wanders into female peers residents’ rooms at times or looks into the rooms.”
The resident’s Nurse’s Notes dated February 7, 2017, shows that the male resident was kissing a female resident “on the mouth, [when] he was immediately redirected. Within five minutes, he was noted to approach [the same female resident] again, take her by the hand and attempt to put his mouth on hers a second time. He was redirected by the staff a second time.”
The female involved in that incident is severely cognitively impaired. Her Nurse’s Notes dated February 7, 2017, revealed that the male resident “was just noted to walk up to [her] and began kissing around the mouth.” The Nurse’s Notes documented that the male resident was separated “two times from kissing another female resident.”
The facility’s February 24, 2017, Nurses Note documents that the male resident “was noted to be kissing a female resident on the mouth as she reclined in her high back reclining wheelchair in the dining room.” The Nurse’s Notes dated the next day revealed that the same male resident “was noted to kiss [a different cognitively impaired female resident] on the cheek as she walked by him near the dining room.”
The facility’s March 22, 2017, Nurse’s Notes documented that the male resident “ simply cannot keep his mouth or his hands off of the female residents. At the Nurse’s Desk, [another female resident] is yelling now in her low voice for him to stop touching her/pinching her each time he goes by saying, ‘I love you, baby.’”
Documentation of the male resident’s behavior continues through August 2017. At that time, the Social Services Director at the facility said that the male resident’s “wife warned us at his admission [on May 23, 2016, that the male resident] is handsy and frisky. We noticed [in the male resident’s] charting that a nurse was writing about specific female residents and how they were responding to the behaviors and that it was not consensual. If two residents want to be affectionate, we let that happen, but if they do not, we need to do something about it.”
The Social Service Director said that for some time “I was aware that he was kissing and touching other residents.” The Director said a female resident “had very impaired cognition, [and the male resident] likes her a lot. They were ‘kissing kissing’ a lot.”
The Director said that the female resident “seems to enjoy. I do not think she would know if the kissing was appropriate. We ran into the issue that the residents could make an informed decision with their cognition. Note, they probably cannot, but they were just kissing.” The female resident “has severely impaired cognition, [and] cannot make informed decisions [and] is kind of vulnerable with always seeking the attention of anyone when she can get [them] to give her attention.”
If you suspect your loved one was the victim of abuse, mistreatment or neglect while a resident at Generations at Rock Island, contact the Illinois nursing home abuse attorneys at Nursing Home Law Center at (800) 926-7565 today. Our network of attorneys fights aggressively on behalf of Rock Island County victims of mistreatment living in long-term facilities including nursing homes in Rock Island. Contact us now to schedule a free case review to discuss how to obtain justice and resolve a financial compensation claim.
Our nursing home attorneys have successfully resolved many financial compensation claims for victims of mistreatment in nursing homes. Our lawyers accept all cases involving wrongful death, nursing home neglect, or personal injury through a contingency fee arrangement. This agreement postpones making payments to our legal firm until after we have successfully resolved your case through a jury trial award or negotiated 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. Our team of attorneys can begin working on your behalf today to make sure you are 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