Many family members are often overwhelmed that they must place their loved one in a nursing home and transfer the need to provide care over to medical professionals. These families are often comforted in knowing that their loved one will receive the best services in a safe, compassionate, environment. Unfortunately, mistreatment is in all too common occurrence in nursing homes where other residents or caregivers injure the victim.
The Tennessee Nursing Home Law Center attorneys have represented many Sullivan County nursing home residents who were mistreated, and we can help your family too. Let our team of attorneys ensure your families receive adequate financial compensation to recover your monetary damages. Our lawyers can take immediate action and hold those at fault for causing your loved one harm legally accountable. We can start working on your case today.
This long-term care (LTC) home is a "for profit" 160-certified bed center providing cares and services to residents of Blountville and Sullivan County, Tennessee. The Medicare/Medicaid-approved facility is located at:
181 Dunlap Road
Blountville, Tennessee, 37617
(423) 323-7112
In addition to providing around-the-clock skilled nursing care, Greystone Health Care Center also offers:
The investigators working for the state of Tennessee and the federal government have the legal authority to impose monetary fines and deny payment for Medicare services if the nursing home has been cited for serious violations of established regulations and rules. Within the last three years, state and federal nursing home regulatory agencies have imposed monetary penalties against Greystone Health Care Center for providing substandard care, including a $9168 fine on August 9, 2017, and $5200 fine on July 28, 2016, for a total of $14,368.
Also, the nursing home received one formally filed complaint within the last thirty-six months. Additional information concerning penalties and fines can be located at the Tennessee Department of Health Nursing Home Reporting Website about this nursing facility.
To ensure that families are fully informed of the services and care that a long-term care facility offers in their community, the state of Tennessee routinely updates their database system. This database contains a comprehensive list of incident inquiries, dangerous hazards, opened investigations, health violations, filed complaints, and safety concerns of facilities statewide and posts the resulting data on the TN Department of Public Health website and at Medicare.gov. This data can be used to make an informed decision before placing a loved one in a private or government-run nursing home.
According to Medicare, this facility maintains an overall rating of one out of five stars, including two out of five stars concerning health inspections, one out of five stars for staffing issues and four out of five stars for quality measures. The Sullivan County neglect attorneys at Nursing Home Law Center have found serious deficiencies and safety concerns at Greystone Health Care Center that include:
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated August 9, 2017, the state investigators documented that the facility had failed to “maintain [a resident’s] dignity by providing incontinence care for two residents” of the thirteen residents interviewed, of the “seventy-five residents who are dependent on staff for toileting needs.” The surveyors documented that the facility’s “failure to provide incontinence care resulted in psychosocial harm for [two residents].”
One resident involved in the investigation “required extensive assistance with bed mobility [and] was totally incontinent of bowel and bladder and was dependent on staff for incontinence care.” The survey team interviewed the female resident on the morning of August 9, 2017 “in her room” revealing that “the resident had to wait until after meals for incontinence care. The continued interview revealed several staff [members] informed her incontinence care was unable to be completed during mealtimes.”
The resident confirmed that “she had to wait up to two hours for incontinence care during mealtimes, which resulted in having to lie in soiled briefs.” During the interview with the resident, she stated that “it upsets me when they do not get to me in time, staying in that mess embarrasses me and belittles me.”
The investigators also reviewed a second resident’s MDS (Minimum Data Set) that shows that the cognitively intact resident “was continent of bowel and bladder and was dependent on staff for toileting needs.” The investigators interviewed the resident who revealed that they “had a prolapsed bladder and was unable to hold her urine for a long [period]. The continued interview revealed that there had been several occasions that staff at failed to respond to her call light timely and she had urinated and had bowel movements on herself.”
The interview also revealed that “breakfast time was when the staff failed to respond to her needs.” The resident “confirmed that it happened three times so far and she had only been at the facility for approximately three weeks.” The resident confirmed that “two or three staff members told her staff were not allowed to help her to the bathroom or with the bedpan during mealtime tray pass or when they were feeding residents.” The resident stated that she “felt degraded and less than a human when she urinated or had bowel movements on herself.”
The surveyor’s interviewed a facility Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) who confirmed that “if a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) “was feeding a resident and another resident needed assistance with toileting, the resident needing to go to the bathroom would have to wait for assistance until feeding was completed.”
A second LPN also confirmed that “Activities of Daily Living care was not to be provided until mealtime was complete. A Certified Nursing Assistant “confirmed if a resident needed to go to the bathroom, they had to wait until the meal was finished.” Another CNA “confirmed residents had become upset and had experienced incontinent episodes due to staff not responding to call for assistance until after mealtime was complete.”
The survey team interviewed the facility Director of Nursing who “confirmed she was aware of a complaint concerning [the resident] being upset about incontinence care during mealtimes.” During the interview, it was “confirmed [that when] the staff were actively feeding residents, they were not to stop the toilet residents.”
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated July 28, 2016, the state investigators documented that the facility had failed to “report and complete investigation after a fall for [one resident] who suffered a wrist fracture (Harm).” The investigative team reviewed the facility’s policy titled: Accidents and Incidents – Investigating and Reporting dated February 8, 2011, that reads in part:
“Accidents or incidents involving residents will be investigated and reported to the Administrator. Regardless of how minor an accident or incident may be, including injuries of unknown source, it will be reported to the Department Supervisor as soon as such accident/incident is discovered or when information of such accident/incident is learned.”
“A report of Incident/Accident will be completed for accidents or incidents. An employee witnessing an accident or incident involving a resident should report such occurrence to his or her immediate supervisor as soon as practical.” “The Nurse Supervisor/Charge Nurse should be immediately informed of accidents or incidents so that medical attention can be provided.”
The state investigators reviewed a resident’s medical records and Quarterly MDS (Minimum Data Set) that show that the resident “did not display behaviors or require supervision with all activities of daily living except bathing which requires total assistance. The resident utilized a walker and had not had a fall since the last assessment.”
The resident’s medical record and care plan dated April 22, 2015, revealed that the resident should “use walker/wheelchair at times for mobility throughout the facility; assist with transfers as needed, and maintain a safe environment.”
A review of the facility’s Nurse’s Notes dated June 10, 2015, through June 13, 2015, revealed “no documentation that the resident had fallen during that time frame. However, a review of the June 14, 2015 Nurse’s Notes revealed the resident “complained of right wrist pain, right wrist looks swollen. Tylenol 650 mg was given for pain, and the wrist was elevated on a pillow. The Medical Doctor and family were notified.”
Additional Nurse’s Notes from the same day revealed that “the doctor was called with new orders for the right hand and right wrist x-rays for pain/swelling.” The documentation shows that the daughter “was notified of swelling and pain and informed of x-rays that were ordered.” The x-ray results were returned to the facility and called to the doctor who “gave a new order” for a splint/immobilizer to the right wrist/arm with a stocking [put on] at the end of the splint.” Orders were given that the resident must see an orthopedic doctor and the daughter was notified.”
The investigative team reviewed a witness statement given by a direct care staff that was dated June 15, 2016 that the revealed that the resident “slid out of her geriatric chair or and onto the floor and June 13, 2015, and the nurse and I put her back and that the chair.” A result of the facility investigation and witness statement concluded that “the impacted wrist fracture is thought to be caused by the resident’s attempt to get herself up and repositioned after a fall on June 13, 2015, or from the fall itself.”
However, the nurse “was unable to find any documentation about the fall [that] the facility stated caused the fracture.” The surveyors interviewed the administrative staff who confirmed that “the facility did not have any investigation/documentation regarding the fall which they believe caused the wrist fracture. The nurse who was working at the time of the fall did not complete the Event Recommendation Form [or] follow facility policy for reporting the fall to the administration.”
Surveyors also documented that the “facility did not begin a falls investigation for the causes of the fall and interventions. The facility was unaware of the fall until the resident complained of pain, the swelling was noted, and an investigation was begun for an injury of unknown origin on June 14, 2015, one day after the fall.”
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated July 28, 2016, the state investigative team noted that the facility had failed to “ensure adequate ventilation was provided to prevent pervasive odors from lingering for eight of seventy-five residents on one of two floors in the facility.” The investigators observed a second-floor hallway on every day during the survey between July 25, 2016, and July 28, 2016.
During that time, there were “odors that resembled urine and feces. The census of the second-floor unit was forty-eight residents. The odors were observed throughout the entire hallway and appeared to be more concentrated near resident rooms #218, #220, #222, #224, #228, potentially affecting six residents at the facility.
One resident stated during an interview that the “hallway often smelled bad.” The investigators observed the ventilation system “located in the resident’s bathroom on both sides of the hallway on the second-floor” that revealed, “there was no suction from the vents after placing a paper towel at the face of the vent.”
As a part of the investigation, the surveyors interviewed the facility Maintenance Director and took a tour of the second floor of the building where it was revealed that “the vents system is checked monthly, but the facility did not have any written documentation” to confirm. The Maintenance Director “tested the pull of the vents system, placing a paper towel at the face of the vent, and confirmed there was no suction.”
If you and your family have concluded that caregivers victimized your loved one while a resident at Greystone Health Care Center, contact the Tennessee nursing home abuse and neglect lawyers at Nursing Home Law Center at (800) 926-7565 today. Our network of attorneys fights aggressively on behalf of Sullivan County victims of mistreatment living in long-term facilities including nursing homes in Blountville.
Our seasoned attorneys represent residents who were harmed by caregiver negligence or abuse and other resident assault. We have years of experience in successfully resolving recompense claims to ensure our clients receive the compensation they deserve. Contact us now to schedule a free case review to discuss how to obtain justice and resolve a financial compensation claim. We can start working on your case to ensure your rights are protected.
The attorneys accept all personal injury claims, nursing home abuse suits, medical malpractice cases, and wrongful death lawsuits through a contingency fee agreement. This arrangement postpones making upfront payments for our legal services until after we have successfully resolved your compensation claim through a negotiated 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. Let our team begin working on your case today to ensure you receive adequate compensation. All information you share with our law offices will remain confidential.
Attorney Cameron Jehl
Licensed in Tennessee
Tennessee Nursing Home Injury Lawyer Nursing Home Law Center LLC Home