Seniors, the disabled, the rehabilitating and infirm are often subjected to neglect and abuse in nursing homes. The inappropriate actions of others often leave family members upset that their loved one is being mistreated at the facility. In many incidents, their loved one’s harm is caused by a lack of supervision, untrained nursing staff or through an assault by another resident. Without immediate intervention, even minor problems can become life-threatening conditions that lead to severe injury or wrongful death.
If your loved one was victimized by mistreatment, the Tennessee Nursing Home Law Center attorneys can provide immediate legal help. Our team of lawyers has assisted many Trousdale County nursing home residents and resolved their compensation claim to ensure they receive monetary recovery for their damages. We use our skills in criminal and civil tort law to hold those responsible for causing the harm legally accountable. We can begin working on your case today.
This Medicare/Medicaid-approved center is a 95-certified bed facility providing services to residents of Hartsville and Trousdale County, Tennessee. The "for profit" long-term care (LTC) home is located at:
649 Mcmurry Blvd
Hartsville, Tennessee, 37074
(615) 374-2167
Tennessee and federal nursing home regulatory agencies have the legal authority to imposed monetary fines and deny payment for Medicare services for any nursing facility cited for serious violations of regulations. Within the last three years, investigators imposed one monetary penalty against Hartsville Convalescent Center on November 15, 2017, for $23,780. On November 15, 2017, Medicare denied payment for services rendered due to substandard care.
Over the last thirty-six months, the nursing facility has received one formally filed complaint and self-reported four serious issues that all resulted in citations. Additional information concerning penalties and fines can be found on the Tennessee Department of Health Nursing Home Reporting Website concerning this nursing facility.
Information on every intermediate and long-term care home in the state can be reviewed on government-owned and operated database websites at Medicare.gov and the Tennessee Department of Public Health website. These regulatory agencies routinely update the comprehensive list of incident inquiries, opened investigations, filed complaints, dangerous hazards, health violations, and safety concerns on facilities statewide.
According to Medicare, this facility maintains an overall rating of one out of five stars, including one out of five stars concerning health inspections, one out of five stars for staffing issues and three out of five stars for quality measures. The Trousdale County neglect attorneys at Nursing Home Law Center have found serious deficiencies and safety concerns at Hartsville Convalescent Center that include:
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated November 15, 2017, the state investigative team documented the facility’s failure to “notify the physician of recommendations for [one resident] reviewed.” The incident involved a severely cognitively impaired resident who “had impaired vision and did not have corrective lenses.” A review of the resident’s medical records and Care Plan revealed that the resident “had visual deficits.”
The survey team reviewed the resident’s Request for an Eye Evaluation dated June 13, 2017, that revealed a “request for an evaluation to be completed.” The documentation showed that an eye examination evaluation was completed on June 30, 2017, that revealed “a recommendation for the resident to receive artificial tears three times per day. Daily activities and quality of life affected. Refer for cataract evaluation.” However, it was noted that in the medical records there was “no documentation the physician had been notified of the recommendations nor had a cataract evaluation referral been made.”
The investigators interviewed the Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) providing the resident care who revealed that “if a referral was needed, the physician was notified and ordered the referral appointment.” A different LPN revealed that “an eye exam evaluation went to the Director of Nursing and then to the floor nurse, who was responsible for contacting the physician notification [that] would be in the Nurse’s Notes.”
The LPN then reviewed the Nurse Progress Notes and “confirmed that there was no documentation of notification to the physician of the recommendations” and “confirmed that the facility failed to notify the physician of the eye exam recommendations for cataract referral or artificial tears for [the resident].” The investigators interviewed the Director of Nursing who “confirmed the facility had failed to ensure that the physician was notified of the eye examination recommendations for a cataract referral or the need for artificial tears.”
A further review of the facility investigation documented the event in the Social Progress Notes dated March 6, 2017. The writer of the notes “along with the Director of Nursing called the resident’s daughter this afternoon (although the event took place at 8:25 PM the night earlier) to let her know about the situation that happened last evening around 8:25 PM in her room with a male resident.”
The investigators interviewed the resident who was asked if she recalled the incident with the other resident. The female resident nodded her head and said: “yes when asked if she had affection for him and was okay with him being on top of her or doing what he did.” The investigators then asked, “if the resident was ever afraid while he was on top of her if he had hurt her, and if he had done anything [that], she did not want him to do.” The female resident “shook her head ‘No’ to each question.”
During an interview with the Director of Nursing, Administrator, Social Services Director (SSD) and Abuse Coordinator, it was revealed that the SSD had “informed both resident’s responsible parties of the event. Further interview confirmed that the facility failed to notify [the male resident’s] Responsible Party timely.
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated January 25, 2018, a state surveyor noted the facility's failure to "prevent mental abuse for one resident.” The state investigators reviewed the facility policy titled Policy and Procedure: Abuse, Neglect, Misappropriation of Property & Exploitation that reads in part:
“The willful infliction of injury, unreasonable containment, intimidation, punishment with resulting physical harm, pain or mental anguish, also includes deprivation of goods/services that are necessary to attain or maintain physical, mental, psychosocial, well-being.”
“Mental Abuse: Mental abuse includes, but is not limited to, humiliation, harassment, threats of punishment, or deprivation.”
The state survey team reviewed the resident’s medical records and interviewed the resident “in her room” that revealed the resident “could not recall what day the incident took place, but recalled it was at night.” The resident stated that “the first two women acted like lunatics from the asylum. They came to the door and were talking together in a foreign tongue. They came together straight to my bed and came at me with their fingers up to my neck.”
The resident stated that the Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) said: “I am going to take you out on Saturday night and we're going to drink whiskey and get drunk.” The resident expressed concerns that the actions and words of the CNA “scared her.” The resident also said that “she felt the staff was making fun of an elderly person by hollering ‘turn out that light.’”
The continuing interview with the resident revealed that the CNA’s “act like lunatics trying to inflict pain on someone. They were going to flip me and change my diaper, but I would not let them. I am scared of them. They make me afraid out of my mind. They do not need to be working in a nursing home, that is no way to treat a human being.”
The resident also stated that “this is so horrendous; I am scared it is going to happen every night.” The resident “informed the Social Services Director (SSD) she did not want those staff [members] taking care of her anymore.”
The survey team interviewed one of the Certified Nursing Assistants (CNAs) by telephone that revealed that the nursing staff was in the resident’s “room to provide incontinent care.” The CNA said that they told the resident “what they were about to do [when] the resident told them to get out.” The CNA said that the “staff attempted to enter the room later but [the resident] would not allow them.”
A second Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) who had been in the room that night stated that they were “talking and went over to [the resident’s] bed and turned on the light, which startled [the resident].” The second CNA said they were “going to provide incontinent care [but the resident] did not let them touch her and stated we scared her.”
The investigators interviewed the Social Service Director who revealed that they had spoken to the resident “about the two CNAs… [who] came into her room really loud and talking in low voices.” The resident had told the SSD that the CNAs “turned on the lights and motioned their fingers [stating] she is scared, and she does not want them in her room in their crazy.”
The resident’s roommate told the SSD that “she heard the comment about the whiskey.” The roommate also stated that “staff had made fun of the resident. They scared her.” The resident’s roommate said that she heard them say “they were going to pour whiskey down her” saying “staff does not knock at times and does not explain what they are coming in there to do.”
The surveyors interviewed a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) about the incident but the LPN “could not get a good understanding of what happened.” The LPN said that the resident “demonstrated how staff motioned their hands toward her.” The LPN “revealed that the resident told her she does not want [those staff members] in her room anymore.”
The surveyors interviewed the Director of Nursing who stated that “she expected staff to knock on the door before entering the room, speak in a low voice, notify residents of what they are doing and called the residents by their name before providing care.” The Director also “confirmed the facility failed to prevent mental abuse for [one resident].”
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated September 12, 2017, the state survey team documented the facility’s failure to “report a non-abuse allegation to the State Agency within 24 hours of the event for [one resident].”
The state survey team reviewed the resident’s medical records and admission MDS (Minimum Data Set). The document shows that the resident with “short-term memory intact, was moderately impaired with daily decision-making skills, requires total assistance of 2+ persons for transfer and dressing, total dependence of one person for locomotion on-and-off the unit, and the upper and lower extremities on one side was impaired.” The documentation also showed that the resident “had inadequate hearing, had no ability to speak, and was able to make yourself understood and she understood others.”
The incident involved facility investigations and Nurse’s Notes from March 5, 2017, revealing that a male resident was standing beside the bed adjusting his pants when the nurses entered the room of the female resident and asked the male resident “to exit the room.” At that time, the male resident exited the room “without any behaviors. This nurse proceeded to ask the female resident questions.”
The nursing staff asked the female resident if the male resident had touched her in her vaginal area. The female resident did not respond to the questions but instead displayed a “flat affect.” The nurse assured the resident “she was not in trouble and that she did not do anything wrong. The resident then shook her head ‘yes’ of the questions.”
The state investigators interviewed the facility Administrator who confirmed that “the event occurred on March 5, 2017, at 8:25 PM, and that the facility reported the event to the State agency” two days later and not within two hours as required by law. The interview also confirmed that “the Administrator was unaware of the non-abuse event reporting time frame and the facility failed to report the allegation within two hours of the abuse allegation event to the State Agency.
If you believe that caregivers victimized your loved one while a resident at Hartsville Convalescent Center, call the Tennessee nursing home abuse attorneys at Nursing Home Law Center at (800) 926-7565 today. Our network of attorneys fights aggressively on behalf of Trousdale County victims of mistreatment living in long-term facilities including nursing homes in Hartsville. For years, our attorneys have successfully resolved nursing home abuse cases just like yours.
Our experience can ensure a positive outcome in your claim for compensation against those that caused your loved one harm. Contact us now to schedule a free case review to discuss how to obtain justice and resolve a financial compensation claim.
We accept all cases of wrongful death, nursing home abuse, and personal injury through a contingency fee arrangement. This agreement postpones the need to pay for our legal services until after our legal team has resolved your claim for compensation through a jury trial award or negotiated settlement out of court. We provide every client a “No Win/No-Fee” Guarantee, meaning if we are unable to obtain compensation on your behalf, you owe our legal team nothing.
Attorney Cameron Jehl
Licensed in Tennessee
Tennessee Nursing Home Injury Attorney Nursing Home Law Center LLC Home