Do you suspect that your loved one living in a nursing facility is being neglected or abused? Do you believe that they are being victimized by caregivers, visitors, employees, or other patients? If so, contact the Kentucky Nursing Home Law Center attorneys for immediate legal intervention.
Our team of lawyers has successfully resolved cases exactly like yours. We have represented dozens of Hardin County nursing home residents and can help your family too. Let us begin working on your case now to ensure your family receives adequate monetary recovery for your damages.
This Medicare/Medicaid-participating nursing center is a "for profit" facility providing services and cares to residents of Elizabethtown and Hardin County, Kentucky. The 82-certified bed long-term care (LTC) nursing home is located at:
225 Saint John Road
Elizabethtown, Kentucky, 42701
(270) 769-3314
Kensington Center
In addition to providing around-the-clock skilled nursing care, Kensington Center offers other amenities and services that include:
The state of Kentucky and the federal government are legally responsible for monitoring each nursing home and impose monetary fines and deny payments through Medicare if serious violations have been identified. These penalties are typically imposed when the violation is severe and harmed or could have harmed a resident.
Within the last three years, Kensington Center received four formally filed complaints that all resulted in citations. Additional information about fines and penalties can be found on the Kentucky Department of Health Care Nursing Home Reporting Website concerning this nursing facility.
Detailed information on each long-term care facility in the state can be obtained online at Medicare.gov and the Kentucky Department of Public Health website. These regulatory agencies routinely update their list of violations on nursing homes 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, three out of five stars for staffing issues and three out of five stars for quality measures. The Hardin County neglect attorneys at the Nursing Home Law Center have found serious deficiencies and safety concerns at Kensington Center that include:
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated August 21, 2018, the state investigator documented the facility’s failure to “notify the Physician or Advanced Practice Registered Nurse of a prescribed medication unavailable for administration.” The deficient practice by the nursing staff involved one resident at the facility.
The surveyors reviewed the facility’s policy titled: Notification of Change in Condition and the policy titled: General Medication Administration that reads in part:
“The facility will immediately inform the Physician when there is a need to alter treatment significantly.”
“Staff on the medication cart are to administer medication within one hour of the prescribed time unless otherwise indicated by the prescriber.”
“If medications are not available for administration as prescribed, the facility is to notify the Physician or Advanced Practice Provider, or the pharmacy as indicated, and the notification is to be documented.”
The survey team reviewed the resident’s Care Plan, Quarterly MDS (Minimum Data Set) Assessment and Brief Interview for Mental Status (BIMS) and determined that “the resident was interview-able. The resident’s Care Plan revealed that the resident “is at risk of alteration in comfort related to chronic pain and interventions included the facility is to medicate the resident as ordered for pain and report to the Physician as indicated.”
A review of the resident’s Medication Administration Record (MAR) dated August 4, 2018, at 4:00 PM in the “space for documentation of administration [of the drug] was blank and the 7:00 PM dose was documented is not given.” A review of the resident’s Progress Note and an interview with the resident on August 14, 2018 at 3:10 PM revealed that the resident was prescribed pain medication four times a day “for pain and staff had not administered the medication for three doses on July 4, 2018, and one dose and July 5, 2018.”
The resident also stated during the interview that “the nurse told [them] they notified the pharmacy.” An interview with the Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) revealed “notification to the resident, family, and Physician or Advanced Practitioner Registered Nurse should be made in several situations including whenever medication was not available to administer as ordered and could not be obtained out of the Emergency Drug Box or pharmacy.”
The LPN stated that “when the Physician or Advanced Practitioner Registered Nurse is notified of unavailable medications, the prescriber will often order to hold the medication, skip the dose, give a soon as possible, or substitute another medication for the one unavailable. The LPN stated documentation that the Progress Notes should include notification of the resident, family, and Physician or Advanced Practitioner Registered Nurse if the medication was unavailable to administer and any new orders received.”
The state investigative team made findings that include that the “facility did not provide a policy pertaining to Physician Notification.” On June 27, 2017, at 11:35 AM, the surveyors observed the resident’s room and saw a “cart containing Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), including gloves and gowns, outside [the resident’s] door with a sign stating visitors should see the nurse before entering the room.”
A Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) told the surveyors three hours later that “the facility placed [the resident] on contact precautions because the resident had tested positive for [a highly contagious] infection. The facility continued contact precautions for [the resident because they were] still symptomatic [of the infection and] continued to have occasional diarrhea.”
The LPN further stated that “she did not notify the Physician of the resident’s continued symptoms and she did not know if anyone else had done so.” The survey team reviewed the resident’s Physician’s orders that instructed the nursing staff to administer an antibiotic (Fidaxomicin) to the resident twice daily for ten days and end on June 5, 2017.”
However, a review of the resident’s Nurse’s Notes between June 5, 2017, and June 27, 2017, revealed that there was “no documentation that the Physician was notified that the resident continued to have symptoms of [their infection] after treatment was completed on June 5, 2017. There was no documentation from the nursing staff regarding the resident continues to have symptoms of [the] infection.”
During an interview with the facility Unit Manager, it was revealed that “nursing staff should have notified the Physician regarding [the resident’s] continued symptoms of [their] infection to obtain additional orders for stool sample and treatment.”
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated June 29, 2017, a state surveyor documented that the facility had failed to “ensure assistive devices were in place to prevent accidents for one of sixteen sampled residents. Observation revealed [that the resident] had an improper sensor alarm on his/her reclining chair while sitting in the chair.”
The survey team reviewed the resident’s Significant Change MDS (Minimum Data Set) and Brief Interview for Mental Status (BIMS) to determine that the resident “was interview-able and “requires extensive assistance of one person for transfers.” The resident’s Comprehensive Care Plan revised on April 19, 2017, revealed that “the facility listed the resident is at risk for falls as a problem on the care plan. The resident was at risk for falls due to impaired balance, unsteady gait, pain, and a history of falls.”
The documentation shows that the facility “initiated an intervention on May 24, 2017, instructing staff to place an alarm on the resident’s recliner to alert the staff when [the resident] tried to get up unassisted.”
However, a review of the facility’s Falls Investigation Report on the same date revealed that the resident “sustained a fall on May 24, 2017, when [they] slid out of the recliner chair lift. The facility put in place an intervention and obtained an order to place a chair alarm under the resident while [they] sat in the recliner to alert the staff if [the resident] tried to get up without assistance.” The documentation shows the resident sustained injury.
The survey team observed the resident at 2:30 PM on June 27, 2017, when the “nursing staff transferred the resident from the wheelchair to the recliner lift chair. The staff placed an alarm sensor pad on the recliner lift chair. However, the alarm attached to the sensor pad was not blinking.”
During an observation of the resident a couple of hours later, a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) answered the resident’s “call light and assisted the resident to the bathroom. Two staff assisted the resident to transfer from [their] recliner chair lift to the wheelchair using a gait belt. During the transfer, the sensor alarm under the resident in the recliner chair lift did not sound when the resident raised up from the chair.”
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated June 29, 2017, a state investigator noted the nursing home's failure to “maintain an infection control program to prevent the development and transmission of disease and infection.” The deficient practice by the nursing staff involved two residents.
According to the state investigators, the “staff failed to utilize Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) while caring for [two residents]. Also, the staff did not sanitize/disinfect shower chairs after use between residents in the shower room.”
The surveyors reviewed the facility’s policy titled: Hand Hygiene revised on November 28, 2016, and the policy titled: Contact Precautions revised on March 13, 2017. These documents read in part:
“Staff must use barrier precautions including a gown and gloves when entering the room and remove gown and gloves and wash hands [before] exiting the room.”
“The staff performed hand hygiene after contact with the patient’s environment.”
The survey team reviewed another resident’s clinical records that revealed that the resident was placed on isolation precautions.
While observing the resident in the resident’s room, the surveyors observed “a sign at the entrance of the resident’s room that indicated the resident was under contact precautions for visitors to see the nurse [before] entering the room. Social Services Staff was in the room with no gown or gloves on. The Social Services Staff moved about the resident’s room, moved furniture, and handed papers to and from the resident.” The surveyors say that the “Social Services Staff did not sanitize her hand upon exiting the resident’s room.”
The survey team interviewed the Social Services Staff member about one hour later who stated that “she did not see the sign on the door regarding contact precautions for [the resident before] entering the room. She stated contact precautions require staff to wear a gown and gloves to prevent the spread of infection to staff, visitors, and other residents in the facility.”
Do you suspect that your loved one was mistreated, neglected or abused while living at Kensington Center? If so, contact the Kentucky nursing home abuse lawyers at Nursing Home Law Center at (800) 926-7565 for immediate legal intervention. Our network of attorneys fights aggressively on behalf of Hardin County victims of mistreatment living in long-term facilities including nursing homes in Elizabethtown. Contact us now to schedule a free case review to discuss how to obtain justice and resolve a financial compensation claim.
Our team of skilled elder resident injury attorneys can assist your family and successfully resolve your case for financial recompense against all parties including the facility, doctors, nurses, and staff members that caused your loved one's harm. We accept every case involving nursing home neglect, wrongful death, or 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.
Our network of attorneys offers every client a “No Win/No-Fee” Guarantee, meaning you will owe us nothing if we are unable to obtain compensation to recover your family’s damages. Let our attorneys begin working on your behalf today to ensure your family receives adequate compensation from those who caused your harm. All the information you share with our law offices will remain confidential.
Sources:
Attorney Carey Acerra
Licensed in Kentucky
Chicago Nursing Home Injury Lawyer Nursing Home Law Center LLC Home