Was your loved one mistreated while living in a Plymouth County nursing facility? Are you concerned that they were the victims of abuse or neglect at the hands of caregivers or other residents? If so, contact the Massachusetts Nursing Home Law Center attorneys now for immediate legal help.Our legal team of abuse prevention lawyers has represented many nursing home victims and can assist your family, too. We provide every client with a free initial consultation to discuss their case and determine the best legal options to proceed. Call now so we can begin working on your case today.
This long-term care home is a "non-profit" 123-certified bed center providing cares and services to residents of Brockton and Plymouth County, Massachusetts. The Medicare and Medicaid-participating facility is located at:
888 North Main Street
Brockton, Massachusetts 02301
(508) 587-6556
The Guardian Center Nursing Home
In addition to providing 24/7 skilled nursing care, The Guardian Center Nursing Home offers other services. Additional focused care includes short-stay care, IV (intravenous) therapy, respite care, hospice, wound care, dementia and memory care, colostomy care, and restorative services involving physical, speech and occupational therapies.
Fined $38,347 for substandard care
It is the legal responsibility of Massachusetts and the federal government investigators to hold nursing homes accountable if they have violated rules and regulations that harmed or could have harmed a resident. These penalties include monetary fines and the denial of payment for Medicare services.
Within the last three years, federal investigators imposed a monetary fine against The Guardian Center Nursing Home for $38,347 on March 24, 2017, citing substandard care. Additional documentation concerning penalties and fines can be reviewed on the State of Massachusetts Reporting Elder Abuse & Neglect Webpage.
Call (800) 926-7565 Toll-Free for a No Obligation Consultation
Your family can visit Medicare.gov and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health website to obtain a complete list of all violations, citations, and deficiencies identified by investigators and surveyors.
According to Medicare, this facility maintains an overall rating of two out of five stars, including two out of five stars concerning health inspections, four out of five stars for staffing issues and four out of five stars for quality measures.
The state investigators determined that “the facility failed to ensure that [one resident] who is restrained with the self-release seat belt could release the seat belt in accordance with Physician’s orders.” This moderately, cognitively impaired resident was admitted to the facility in February 2012.
The resident’s documentation indicates that the resident had “two or more falls since the previous MDS (Minimum Data Set) Assessment.” The Restraint Evaluation/Reduction Assessment indicated “a self-releasing seat belt to prevent rising from a chair was indicated as a reminder to call for assistance instead of self-transferring.”
However, the “assessment did not include team decisions and recommendations systematic and gradual reduction per facility policy.” The resident’s Interdisciplinary Care Planned for Falls and Care Plan indicated the use of a self-releasing seat belt “did not include team decisions or recommendations.”
Also, the Treatment Administration Record “failed to indicate that the restraint was released according to Physician’s orders.” The medical record “failed to indicate the restraint was released every two hours, during activities, and during meals according to Physician’s orders.”
The survey team observed the resident “seated in a wheelchair in the first-floor activity room during a coffee social with activity staff with a Velcro seat belt fastened in place.” One surveyor observed the resident “seated in his/her wheelchair in front of the second-floor unit’s nursing station [and asked the resident if they] could release the Velcro seat belt. The resident responded that he/she could not release it.”
The surveyor “asked the resident to try to release the seat belt, and the resident agreed.” The resident “attempted for approximately three minutes to release the Velcro seat belt and was unable to do so.” Sometime later, the surveyor informed the Unit Manager that the resident “was unable to release the Velcro seat belt upon request.”
The Unit Manager “said that the seat belt is a safety device, not a restraint, and that the resident can release it.” The Unit Manager then approached “the resident and knelt down next to him/her and gave verbal, step-by-step, detailed instructions of how to release the Velcro seat belt. After much instruction and encouragement, the resident was still unable to release the Velcro seat belt.”
The Unit Manager also said that “the staff does not document the release of the seat belt every two hours, during activities and while at meals.”
Were you the victim of mistreatment while you lived at The Guardian Center Nursing Home? Contact the Massachusetts nursing home abuse lawyers at Nursing Home Law Center at (800) 926-7565 for immediate legal intervention. We represent Plymouth County victims of abuse and neglect in all areas, including Brockton.
It is always free to discuss your case with our legal team of abuse prevention lawyers. We provide a 100% “No Win/No-Fee” Guarantee, meaning you will owe us nothing until we can secure a financial recovery on your behalf.
Sources:
Chicago Nursing Home Injury Lawyer Nursing Home Law Center LLC Home