Any form of mistreatment occurring in a nursing facility could be constituted as neglect or abuse if it occurs by the hands of a caregiver, family member, friend, employee, another resident or actions or inaction taken by the facility. The nursing home, Administrator and staff have a legal duty to protect every resident in a safe environment. Typically, mistreatment occurs because the nursing facility provided only minimal standards of care, health assistance, and safety.
The Arkansas nursing home neglect attorneys have represented many Boone County nursing home residents who were harmed, injured or died prematurely while under the care of others. Our legal team seeks justice on behalf of the victim or their surviving family members to ensure they receive adequate compensation for their losses and damages. Let us help your family too.
This Medicare/Medicaid-participating long-term care (LTC) center is a 103-certified bed "not-for-profit" home providing services to residents of Harrison and Boone County, Arkansas. The facility is located at:
1111 Maplewood Rd
Harrison, Arkansas, 72601
(870) 741-5001
In addition to providing long-term skilled nursing care, the facility also offers physical, occupational and speech therapies.
The state and federal investigators have the legal authority to penalize any nursing home that has been cited for a serious violation that harmed or could have harmed a nursing home resident. Typically, these penalties include an imposed monetary fine or denial of payment for Medicare services.
Within the last three years, state and federal nursing home regulatory agencies have fined Hillcrest Home once for $7938 on February 3, 2017, due to substandard care. Additional documentation about fines and penalties can be found on the Arkansas Adult Protective Services website concerning this nursing facility.
Detailed information on each long-term care home in the state can be obtained on government-run websites including Medicare.gov and the Arkansas Department of Public Health website. These regulatory agencies routinely update their list of dangerous hazards, opened investigations, health violations, safety concerns, filed complaints, and incident inquiries on nursing homes statewide.
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 Boone County neglect attorneys at Nursing Home Law Center have found serious deficiencies, hazardous violations and safety concerns at Hillcrest Home that include:
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated February 3, 2017, the state surveyors documented that the facility had failed to "ensure a seat belt was securely applied [according to] manufacturer's instructions to prevent potential resident injury during transport in a wheelchair in a facility van." The deficient practice by the employees at the facility "resulted in a resident falling to the floor when the van was in motion."
The investigators also documented a nursing home failure "to ensure transport staff called for assistance to get the resident off of the van floor [before] continuing the transport." The home also failed "to ensure [that] the incident was investigated to determine whether" a staff failure or equipment failure caused the resident's fall to the floor.
The survey team determined the actions by the nursing home failed to "facilitate the ability to determine if further training and increased supervision were needed; and, failed to ensure training of transportation staff included hands-on demonstrations and a successful return demonstration to verify that staff was competent to carry out transportation duties."
The deficient practice involved one of fourteen residents "who utilized a wheelchair for mobility and the use of the facility van for transportation." These "failed practices resulted in Immediate Jeopardy, which caused or could have caused serious harm, injury or death to [the resident]." The failures "had the potential to cause more than minimal harm to fifty-nine residents who were transported in the facility van while in a wheelchair."
The state investigator team informed the facility of "the condition of Immediate Jeopardy" involving the severely cognitively impaired resident who requires "extensive physical assistance of two-plus persons for bed mobility and transfers, [who] had shortness of breath upon exertion, required oxygen therapy, and used a wheelchair for mobility."
The survey team reviewed the resident's Nurse's Notes dated November 11, 2016, that documented that the resident was "refusing to get up for breakfast." The Nurse Note documented "wheezing present in bilateral lungs anteriorly and posteriorly. The resident skin is cool, clammy to touch. Blood sugars [are registered at] 283."
Nurse's Notes from approximately one hour later document that they had "received telephone orders to send the resident to the emergency room." The resident's family was notified and agreed with the treatment plan," and the resident "was transported to the hospital emergency room." However, during the transport, a staff member stated that "the resident began sliding out of the wheelchair. The staff member [a transport employee] believed that the resident would make it to the hospital without falling out of the chair, but the resident slid out of the chair onto the transport vehicle floor."
The van driver stated that a Certified Nursing Assistant and a hospital Registered Nurse "assisted the resident off of the transport vehicle floor [and] on to a hospital bed" and that "no injuries were observed" and the resident was "alert." The investigator team interviewed a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) who stated that "I did a verbal in-service with my staff on if the resident is too weak, then emergency medical services (EMS) should be called to transport the resident. I did not have anyone sign anything." The Assistant Director of Nursing at the facility told the survey team that "we have a training checklist and did a pre- and post-training with [the transportation van driver].
The Transportation Coordinator stated that she was "the backup driver that day and she had a friend with her. Instead of stopping when the resident started sliding, [the driver] kept going. I just went over the in-service paper with her. I did not physically go out to the van, but probably should have."
The survey team interviewed the van driver concerning what happened. The driver stated that "the nurse asked if I would take the resident to the emergency room. She [the resident] was in her wheelchair with a cushion and foot pedals. I put her in the van and strapped it [the wheelchair] down. I could tell she [the resident] was weak."
The driver also said that a CNA "helped me reposition her in the wheelchair to transport her. Then, I buckled her in with the seatbelt. As I was driving, there are hills, and I could tell in the rearview mirror that she was sliding down. I did not have anywhere to pull over. I kept going and then pulled over. My friend [a non-staff member] was in the van with me. We stopped and tried to get [the resident] off the floor, but we were unable to. We were about a mile from the hospital."
The van driver said that the "resident was left sitting on the floor of the van with her bottom on the floor and her knees bent to her chest. When we got to the emergency room, I asked the ER staff to help. It took three staff to assist because [the resident] was so weak and was deadweight. I should have called someone when it happened."
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated February 3, 2017, the state investigators documented that the facility had failed to "ensure oxygen was consistently administered at the physician-ordered flow rate to prevent potential respiratory complications." The state investigator reviewed a resident's medical records and physician's orders that instruct the nursing staff to provide the resident oxygen at 2 Liters per nasal cannula every shift for dyspnea (labored or difficult breathing).
The state investigator observed the resident "in her room lying in bed on her right side with her eyes closed. The bed was in a low position. The nasal cannula tubing was connected to the oxygen concentrator and the flow rate was set to 1.5 Liters per minute. The nasal cannula was located by the resident's feet on the right side of the bed."
Approximately twenty-four hours later on January 25, 2017, the resident was observed "in her room, lying in her bed on her right side with her eyes closed." The bed was still in a low position, and the nasal cannula tubing was still connected to the oxygen concentrator at the same rate of oxygen flow of 1.5 Liters per minute. The next morning, the state surveyor interviewed a Licensed Practical Nurse providing the resident care and asked about the resident's physician's orders for oxygen delivery. The LPN replied that the physician's orders state "2 Liters, continuous."
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated February 3, 2017, the state investigators documented a serious issue. The suryverors documented a failure to "ensure a comprehensive MDS (Minimum Data Set) was completed within fourteen days of a significant change in the status and order to evaluate changes in the resident's care needs and facilitate the ability to develop a plan of care that meet the needs of the resident."
The deficient practice by the nursing staff involved a resident "whose MDS assessments were reviewed during the survey. The deficient practice has the potential to affect four residents who experienced a significant change in condition in the past six months."
The state investigator reviewed a resident's Admission Care Plan dated September 20, 2016, that revealed the resident required the assistance of one staff member for hygiene, bathing, dressing, grooming, eating, ambulation and transfer. The Care Plan tells the staff to encourage the resident to express their feelings and listen carefully and "encourage participation in daily care and decisions …"
The resident's Quarterly Minimum Data Set showed that the resident "had mild depression with a mood score of eight." The report also showed the resident "required an extensive two-person assistance for transfer, and required limited two-person assistance in walking in [their] room, walking in the corridor, and was totally dependent with one person assistance with locomotion on unit and off unit and required supervision to set up help only with personal hygiene and was frequently incontinent of bladder and continent of bowel."
The documentation shows that the resident "had two falls since admission and [before the] assessment. This assessment reflected an increase in the resident's depression, declines in the resident's transferability and locomotion on and off the unit."
There were additions made to the resident's Care Plan on December 8, 2016, that showed a "two-person transfer with a gait belt except when getting on and off the toilet and then she is a one person with a gait belt." By January 27, 2017, the Plan of Care from December 15, 2016 "was not revised to reflect any changes in the resident's care needs and as a result of identifying changes in mood score and ADL assistance needs."
If you suspect your loved one has suffered harm through abuse, neglect or mistreatment while a resident at Hillcrest Home, call the Arkansas nursing home abuse attorneys at Nursing Home Law Center at (800) 926-7565 now for legal assistance. Our network of attorneys fights aggressively on behalf of Boone County victims of mistreatment living in long-term facilities including nursing homes in Harrison.
Allow our reputable attorneys to handle every aspect of your compensation claim against every individual or entity that caused harm to your loved one. Our years of experience in handling nursing home abuse recompense claims can ensure a successful resolution of your case. Contact us now to schedule a free case review to discuss how to obtain justice and resolve a financial compensation claim. We will fight on your behalf to ensure your rights are protected.
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