In some incidences, the nursing home is unwilling or unable to make the necessary corrections to improve the quality of care they provide those under their care. When this occurs, the federal and state nursing home regulatory agencies can designate the Home as a Special Focus Facility (SFF) on a national watch list.
Kindred Traditional Care and Rehab – Columbus was recently designated a Special Focus Facility and must now undergo additional investigations and inspections by state and federal regulators. Likely, the facility will remain on the watch list for many years to come until inspectors are satisfied that the changes the nursing home has made are significant improvements to the level of care they provide every resident.
This facility is a ‘for profit’ 212-certified-bed LTC Center providing cares and services to the residents of Columbus and Bartholomew County, Indiana. The Home is located at:
2100 Midway St.
Columbus, IN 47201
(812) 372-8447
In addition to providing long-term and short-term skilled nursing care, the facility also offers:
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has the power to issue monetary penalties to nursing homes identified with egregious violations and deficiencies. Over the last three years, Kindred Transitional Care & Rehab – Columbus has received three separate fines including a monetary penalty on August 27, 2015, for $9360, August 16, 2016, four $13,252, and January 20, 2017, four $16,585.
Federal and state government agencies routinely update the national Medicare.gov website to post information on incident inquiries, safety concerns, health violations, dangerous hazards, filed complaints, and opened investigations. Families use this information to make the best decision possible for where to place a loved one who requires the highest level of health and hygiene care. The site can be used as an analysis tool by comparing different facilities in the local community.
Currently, Kindred Transitional Care and Rehab – Columbus maintains a below average two out of five stars ranking compared all other facilities in the US. This ranking includes one out of five stars for health inspections, two out of five stars for staffing, and five out of five stars for quality measures. Some of the most serious concerns for the safety and well-being of the nursing home residents are listed below.
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated July 28, 2017, the state investigator noted that the facility failed to “ensure abuse did not occur for [a resident].” The resident was interviewed by the investigator’s at 4:20 PM on July 20, 2017, who indicated “that recently had asked a nurse to change his wound dressing to his feet and she yelled at him. The resident told staff, and a different nurse took over his care for the rest of the shift. He spoke to the Administrator the next morning, and the nurse was fired. The resident was satisfied with the way the situation was handled.”
The nursing staff investigated the incident and reported the problem to the Indiana State Department of Health. The report indicated that the Registered Nurse had “yelled, intimidated, and insulted [the resident].” As a part of the termination, the RN was “told not to return to the facility.”
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated July 20, 2017, the surveyors noted that the facility had “failed to properly investigate allegations of abuse and injuries of unknown origin. And incident occurring at 11:00 PM on June 7, 2017, revealed that a Registered Nurse “was working and had refused to change the resident’s wound dressing to his feet.”
A different RN “had called the Director of Nursing and said that [the abusive nurse] had refused to change the resident’s wound dressing because it wasn’t her job to do it.” The Director instructed the second RN “to take over [the resident’s] care, and that [the abusive resident] was not to go into [the resident’s] room anymore that night.”
The following morning at 7:30 AM the Administrator interviewed the resident [who indicated that the abusive nurse] had refused to change his dressing to his feet [and stated that] he had laid awake all night thinking about the situation and that the nurse at yelled, intimidated, and insulted him. The other nurse working that evening had to change the resident’s dressing. No other staff was interviewed about the allegation. The Administrator indicated that there was no reason interview other staff as she had believed the resident’s statement.”
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated July 28, 2017, the state investigator noted that a diagnostic report of a resident was reviewed 2:40 PM on July 24, 2017. The report revealed that on July 7, 2017 “the resident had obtained an x-ray of the left femur with findings of a moderately healed supracondylar femur fracture.”
During an interview with the Director Nursing on the afternoon of July 25, 2017, it was revealed that “the resident had fallen July 6, 2017, and had leg pain, so an x-ray of the left leg was performed to determine that the resident had an old fracture with a moderate amount of healing. The resident went to see orthopedics, and it was determined that the resident should have conservative treatments, such as routine pain and making sure the resident was comfortably positioned. When she investigated it, she had looked back through previous falls and determined that the healing fracture was from a fall in May 2015 and would heal slowly due to [the resident’s medical condition].”
The local Ombudsman was interviewed on the morning of July 26, 2017, who indicated “that she had not been notified of the injury to the resident’s femur and she should have been notified about it.” As a result, the investigator interviewed the facility’s Administrator later that day who indicated “she did not investigate the incident. She had left it to the Director of Nursing.”
The Director of Nursing was interviewed the following morning who indicated “that if a fracture was almost heal, he would investigate possible causes of the injury. She doesn’t believe the injury was of unknown origin and it shouldn’t have been reported due to a prior investigation indicating it occurred due to a fall in May 2015.” However, it was noted that the Director “did not provide any documentation that indicates the fracture occurred from the fall in May 2015.”
The Director stated during the interview that “for any injury, they look at diagnostic reports, explanation of the injury, staff interviews, and possible causes with and without a resident response. The resident had required the use of a lawyer left and they could have looked at the lawyer left for a possible risk of fracture concern.” However, “there was no documentation that the lawyer left was observed or investigated or any documentation that staff was interviewed related to the femur fracture.”
It was also noted in the summary statement of deficiencies that the facility had “failed to ensure pain management associated with the resident’s fracture. A review of the resident’s Electronic Medication Administration Record for July 27, 2017, revealed that “there was no documentation for any pain medication was given, pain monitoring was documented, or the physician was notified.”
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated July 20, 2017, state investigator noted the facility’s failure “to follow physician’s orders and resident care plans related to pressure ulcers and medication administration.” This failure involved five residents at the facility.
As a part of the findings, it was noted that an observation “of a dressing change of a resident was conducted on July 24, 2017” with a Licensed Practical Nurse. The resident was observed “to have a pressure ulcer on his left heel. During the treatment, no lotion was applied to the skin surrounding the resident’s wound.”
The surveyors reviewed the wound treatment and physician’s orders concerning dressing with the Director of Nursing. The surveyor noted that the order indicated “apply moisturizing lotion to surrounding skin, change daily.”
As part of the investigation, the surveyors interviewed the Wound Care Nurse providing service for the facility. On July 25, 2017, the nurse stated that this resident “had appointments every one to two weeks. At times, the resident came too late to be seen or did not show up at all. The long-term care facility would indicate that the resident did not have transportation, or they did not know he had an appointment.”
The Assistant Wound Nurse stated that “the resident rarely came to his appointments wearing his prescribed pressure relieving footwear nor were his feet elevated. The [repeated entries on] the physician’s orders were placed there to draw attention to the orders the facility was failing to follow.”
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated July 28, 2017, the state investigator noted the facility’s failure “to prevent the acquisition and increase the size of a pressure ulcer of the resident’s heel resulting in an unstageable wound.” An observation was made of the resident on the afternoon of July 24, 2017. The surveyor noted that “to have an unstageable (full-thickness tissue loss in which the base of the ulcer was covered by slough (yellow, tan, gray, green, or brown) or eschar (tan, brown, or black) in the wound bed) pressure ulcer on his left heel.”
The investigator’s interviewed the resident’s power of attorney who “indicated he was concerned about a wound on the resident’s heel. The facility failed to get the resident to his appointments at the Wound Care Facility. The resident had missed his appointment today and at several points at the Wound Care Facility. The Power of Attorney usually went with the resident to his appointments. The resident often did not have his pressure relieving boots on or lotion applied was legs and feet by staff.”
The Wound Care Physician indicated during an interview conducted on July 20, 2017, that “the lack of following orders and missed appointments contributed to the increase in size and the delay in healing of the pressure ulcer on the [resident’s] heel.”
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated July 20, 2017, the state investigator noted the facility’s failure “to follow appropriate infection control practices related to, and washing during, wound care and medication administration.” This deficient practice affected two residents.
An observation was made of a resident during “a dressing change in his foot on July 24, 2017, at 3:02 PM. The procedure was completed by a Licensed Practical Nurse [LPN].” The LPN “gathered supplies, placed them on the ‘over the bed’ table, awakened the resident, explained the procedure, donned gloves, removed the soft boot from the left foot, prop up foot upon a pillow.” She then “removed her gloves, then threw them in the trash, washed her hands, donned a glove on her left hand, move the resident’s wheelchair with the right hand, [and] took scissors out of her pocket with her right hand.” She then “donned a glove with her right hand, cut the dressing off of the scissors, removed the undated dressing, cleansed the wound with a spray bottle of wound cleanser that she picked up several times, and cut pieces of gauze with the same scissors. Cleansing solution was sprayed on the heel, and the gauze was dabbed against the wound.”
During the procedure, the investigator observed multiple times that the nurse had violated safety protocols to prevent cross-contamination. The facility was reminded of these deficiencies by reviewing the nursing home’s December 20, 2016, Policy titled: Clean Dressing Change.
If you have been injured through abuse, neglect or mistreatment while a resident at any nursing facility including Kindred Traditional Care and Rehab – Columbus, you are likely entitled to file a compensation claim to recover your damages. Contact an Indiana nursing home negligence attorney who specializes in neglect and abuse cases.
Attorneys handling compensation claims and lawsuits usually provide legal services through a contingency fee agreement. This arrangement allows you immediate access to advice and counsel, and The attorney’s representation is provided without any upfront payment. Legal services are paid only after the case is successfully resolved by a monetary award at a jury trial or through a negotiated out of court settlement.
For information on local facilities and attorneys who are experienced with nursing home negligence cases, look at the links below:
Sources:
Attorney Jeffrey D. Powless
Licensed in Indiana
Bartholomew County Nursing Home Injury Lawyer Nursing Home Law Center LLC Home