Abuse of the elderly, infirmed, rehabilitating and disabled in nursing homes often involves physical harm, sexual assault, mental pain, neglect or misappropriation of the patient’s property. In many cases, the signs and indicators of mistreatment are difficult to identify due to the patient’s mental or physical status. However, every caregiver in a nursing home has the responsibility to protect a resident to ensure they receive the highest level of care no matter what their condition.
If you suspect that your loved one is the victim of mistreatment while residing in a Monroe County nursing facility, contact the Illinois Nursing Home Law Center lawyers now for immediate legal intervention. Our team of Chicago nursing home neglect attorneys has successfully handled and resolve cases like yours. Let us begin working on your behalf to ensure your family is adequately compensated for your damages and those responsible for causing your harm are held legally and financially accountable.
This long-term care (LTC) home is a "for profit" 119-certified bed center providing cares and services to residents of Columbia and Monroe County, Illinois. The Medicare/Medicaid-participating facility is located at:
253 Bradington Drive
Columbia, Illinois, 62236
(618) 281-6800
In addition to providing around-the-clock skilled nursing care, Integrity Health Care of Columbia provides other services that include:
The investigators for the federal and state nursing home regulatory agencies have the legal authority to impose monetary fines or deny payment for Medicare services if the nursing facility is cited for serious violations of rules and regulations.
During the last three years, Integrity Health Care received thirty formally filed complaints due to substandard care that all resulted in citations. Additional documentation about fines and penalties can be found on the Illinois Department of Public Health Nursing Home Reporting Website concerning this nursing facility.
To be fully informed on the level of care nursing homes provide, families routinely research the Illinois Department of Public Health and Medicare.gov database systems. The sites post a comprehensive list of incident inquiries, dangerous hazards, opened investigations, health violations, filed complaints, and safety concerns. This information provides valuable content to make a well-informed decision of where to place a loved one who requires the highest level of hygiene and health care assistance.
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 two out of five stars for quality measures. The Monroe County neglect attorneys at Nursing Home Law Center have found serious deficiencies and safety concerns at Integrity Healthcare of Columbia that include:
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated August 7, 2018, the state investigators documented that the facility had failed to “prevent the formation of pressure ulcers and provide pressure relief and implement interventions to prevent pressure ulcers.” The deficient practice by the nursing staff involved two of three residents “reviewed for pressure ulcers.”
The investigator stated that “this failure resulted in [a resident] developing unstageable pressure ulcers to her coccyx, left hip and right ilium.” A review of the resident’s MDS (Minimum Data Set) Assessment reveals that the patient “requires extensive assistance of two staff persons for bed mobility and transfers. The MDS documents she had no current pressure ulcers but was at risk for the development of pressure ulcers.”
The investigators reviewed the resident’s Care Plan that shows the patient “has the potential for pressure ulcer development or skin breakdown related to decreased mobility and occasional incontinence. The Care Plan goal” indicated that the resident “will have intact skin free of redness, blisters or discoloration by/through the next review day.”
However, a review of the resident’s treatment sheet indicates that a toxic pressure ulcer was found. The patient received a treatment order to heal the wound on her coccyx. Unfortunately, the treatment record documents that the pressure ulcer increased in size from 2.6 cm x 6.0 cm x 0.1 cm an open area with full granulation 2.5 cm x 3.0 cm x 0.3 cm open area to the coccyx and an unstageable area on the left side of the wound bed.”
Even if the pressure ulcer has been determined to be unstageable through multiple assessments, “there is no change of treatment although [the resident’s] area remained unstageable with no improvement.”
A review of the resident’s Care Plan dated August 10, 2017, revealed “the potential for pressure ulcer development with current pressure ulcer to the buttocks and contractures.” The resident’s “Care Plan also documents the intervention to ensure heel protectors are on at all times.” The resident’s Treatment Record reveals “heel protectors at all times as tolerated while in bed.”
The resident’s Braden Scale that was documented on June 26, 2017, revealed that the resident “is at high risk for pressure sores.” However, observations of the resident in bed on August 22, 2017, at 1:55 PM and on August 23, 2017, at 1:50 PM shows that the resident “was in bed with no heel protectors in place.”
The following day on August 24, 2017, at 9:56 AM, a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) stated that “CNAs are responsible for applying [the patient’s] heel protectors, but she floats the heels and did not know [the resident] had heel protectors.” The investigators reviewed the facility’s policy titled: Preventative Skin Care that reads in part “Pressure relieving devices may be used to protect heals and elbows.”
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated August 7, 2018, the state survey team documented that “based on observation, interview and record review, the facility failed to supervise resident-to-resident altercations for one resident reviewed for resident interactions.”
The investigators reviewed the resident’s MDS (Minimum Data Set) Assessment dated March 27, 2018, that shows the patient’s Brief Interview of Mental Status reveals “severe cognitive impairment.” The resident’s Care Plan dated July 4, 2018, revealed that the patient “has a behavior problem related to yelling out in the hallway without describing a cause. The nurses indicate that there is an increase in agitation, hitting and resisting medication.”
The resident’s “goal for her behavior Care Plan is [the female patient] will have fewer episodes of yelling out and continue to safely roam for the next 90 days.” The patient’s “interventions include administer medications as ordered, if reasonable, discuss [the resident’s] behavior, explain/reinforce why behaviors and appropriate, and monitor behavior episodes.”
Documentation shows that on August 1, 2018, at 8:45 AM, the resident was “in her room with a cover over her head.” The patient “is cursing and talking to herself.” By 12:30 PM that day, the resident “was wandering through the facility cursing and yelling loudly.” The Incident Report dated October 29, 2017, revealed the resident “kicked another resident.”
The incident involved a resident with “no cognitive impairment. The resident’s MDS (Minimum Data Set) Assessment revealed that the patient “needs extensive assist for transfers but is independent with the use of a wheelchair on and off the unit. The MDS documents no wandering behavior or history of falls.”
A review of the resident’s Nurse’ Notes dated August 6, 2018, at 6:50 PM documents that the resident “eloped out the main doors into the parking lot [and] assisted back to the facility per this nurse, 15-minute checks initiated, Care Plan made aware.”
A subsequent Nurse’s Note documents at 7:00 PM the same day “a message was left with the Power of Attorney to call the facility.” The 9:00 AM, August 7, 2018 Nurse’s Note revealed that the doctor was “made aware of the elopement.”
A review of the resident’s Care Plan dated September 13, 2018 revealed that the resident “has the potential to demonstrate verbally abusive behaviors and resist care related to dementia/mental/emotional illness. She will become inpatient quickly if staff did not respond immediately to all her request. She has also been delusional in that she does not seem to know where she is and has entered other residents’ room and has attempted to leave the facility. She has exit-seeking behavior as an optimal transfer self without assistance.”
The surveyors stated that “there are no interventions/approaches addressing [the patient’s] wandering/elopement in the care plan. There was no update on the Care Plan” concerning the resident’s elopement on that August 6, 2018.
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated August 25, 2017, a state investigator noted the nursing home's failure to “perform hand hygiene to prevent the spread of infection for two of fifteen residents.”
The investigators observed a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) just after noon on August 22, 2017, while assisting two residents “with their meals.” The CNA “took the edge of [one resident’s] clothing protector and wiped her mouth with it, and then without sanitizing her hands, fed [the resident] some of her puréed meal.”
The CNA also adjusted the other resident’s “geriatric sleep protector and continued to feed both [resident’s] there puréed meals.” The CNA adjusted the second resident’s “pillow behind her head and continued to give [both residents] there puréed meals with the same hand.” The CNA did not “utilize hand sanitizer throughout the whole meal.”
During an interview with the Administrator was revealed that “there was no one in the facility on contact isolation.” The resident’s Physician Order shows that “this patient is not under hospice care.” The resident’s MAR plus documents on September 20, 2018, that the resident “is not in contact isolation, and there is no personal protective equipment (PPE) outside his door.” The resident “is reaching down and is scratching his lower leg and rocking back and forth in his wheelchair.” The resident “is unable to answer any questions but nods his head that he is itchy and nods his head that the aging is very intense.” The resident “also shakes his head that he has been itchy for a long time.”
The investigators reviewed the resident’s Shower Sheets dated August 27, 2018, that revealed “rashes and the resident needs his toenails cut. No other item is documented.”. Current treatment continued.”
By September 20, 2018, at 4:12 PM, the Nurse Practitioner documents that the resident “is full-blown scabies again. He is highly contagious right now. He was one of my first residents in the facility to get scabies, and I just treated him a month ago. I am going to put him back on contact isolation.”
The investigators interviewed the facility Director of Nursing who said, “No, I am not aware of the facility having any suspected or confirmed cases of scabies. I just started working here and have only been here for three days, but no one has shared with me that we have any scabies in the building.”
Do you suspect that your loved one was abused or neglected while living at Integrity Healthcare of Columbia? If so, call the Illinois nursing home abuse and neglect lawyers at Nursing Home Law Center at (800) 926-7565 now. Our network of attorneys fights aggressively on behalf of Monroe County victims of mistreatment living in long-term facilities including nursing homes in Columbia. Contact us now to schedule a free case review to discuss how to obtain justice and resolve a financial compensation claim.
Our nursing home abuse attorneys can represent your loved one injured by the inappropriate actions of the facility and staff. Our network of attorneys will work on your behalf to ensure your family receives sufficient financial compensation to recover your damages. We accept every case concerning wrongful death, nursing home abuse, and personal injury through a contingency fee agreement. This arrangement postpones the need to pay for legal services until after we have resolved your case through a negotiated out of court settlement or jury trial award.
Our network of attorneys provides every client a “No Win/No Fee” Guarantee, meaning if we are unsuccessful and resolving your compensation case, you owe us nothing. 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 Attorney Nursing Home Law Center LLC Home