Many families have no other option than to place a loved one in a nursing facility to ensure they can maximize their quality of life. The family expects that the professional staff will follow established procedures and protocols to eliminate the potential of mistreatment. Sadly, abuse and neglect remain serious problems throughout Kentucky assistance homes.
If your loved one was injured while residing in a Jefferson County nursing facility, contact the Kentucky Nursing Home Law Center attorneys now for immediate legal intervention. Let our team of lawyers work on your family’s behalf to ensure that those responsible for causing the harm are held legally and financially accountable. We will use the law to obtain monetary recovery for your damages.
This long-term care (LTC) home is a "for profit" 62-certified bed center providing cares to residents of Louisville and Jefferson County, Kentucky. The Medicare/Medicaid-participating facility is located at:
3802 Klondike Lane
Louisville, Kentucky, 40218
(502) 452-1579
Klondike Center
In addition to providing around-the-clock skilled nursing care, Klondike Center offers other services and amenities that include:
Federal and state investigators can penalize any nursing home that has violated rules and regulations that resulted in harm or could have harmed a resident. These penalties include imposing monetary fines and denying payment for Medicare services.
Within the last three years, nursing home regulators imposed a massive $104,878 monetary penalty against Klondike Center on October 27, 2017, citing substandard care. Also, the facility received one formally filed complaint and self-reported one serious issue that both resulted in citations.
Additional information about penalties and fines can be reviewed on the Kentucky Department of Health Care Nursing Home Reporting Website concerning this nursing facility.
The state of Kentucky routinely updates their long-term care home database systems to reflect all health violations and dangerous hazards. This information can be found on numerous sites including Medicare.gov and the KY Department of Public Health website.
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 Jefferson County neglect attorneys at the Nursing Home Law Center have found serious deficiencies and safety concerns at Klondike Center that include:
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated January 1, 2018, the state investigator documented the facility’s failure to “have an effective system in place to notify the Physician or the Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN) when medications were not available to treat diagnosed conditions.” The deficient practice by the nursing staff involved two residents.”
The surveyors reviewed a resident’s Physician’s orders and records that revealed the “resident was transferred to the hospital for difficulty breathing, an elevated heart rate, and a decrease in blood oxygenation.” The second resident’s Physician’s orders revealed that that resident “did not receive fifteen doses of medication between May 22, 2018, and May 29, 2018, due to the unavailability of the medication.”
The surveyors say that the staff “failed to notify the provider and the resident had periods of confusion and an elevated ammonia level during the time that the medication was not administered, which according to interview, was a result of [the home] not receiving the antibiotic.”
The investigators noted that the “facility’s failure to have an effective system in place to ensure the Physician was notified when the resident did not receive ordered medication that caused or is likely to cause serious injury, harm, impairment, or death to the resident. An Immediate Jeopardy was identified on June 25, 2018 and was determined to exist on May 22, 2018. The facility was notified of the Immediate Jeopardy on June 25, 2018.”
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated July 1, 2018, the state investigators documented that the facility had failed to “provide treatment for [pressure ulcers].” The investigators reviewed the facility’s policy titled: Skin Integrity Management that was revised on November 28, 2016. The document reads in part: “Wound care treatment/techniques should be implemented as ordered.”
A review of the resident’s clinical records and Care Plan dated May 1, 2018, revealed that the “resident had an actual skin breakdown with an intervention to provide wound treatment as ordered to the left heel.”
The resident’s Treatment Administration Record (TAR) revealed an order for Negative Pressure Therapy “to the left foot/heel, which included cleaning, applying skin prep, and covering the heel with dressing. The dressing was to be changed every third day on the day shift.”
The survey team interviewed the resident on June 20, 2018, who revealed that they “had a pressure ulcer on [their] left foot and negative pressure wound therapy (device) being used for the treatment [of their pressure ulcer].” The resident stated that the dressing on [their] foot “was supposed to be changed every three days and it had not been changed in at least four days.” The surveyors observed the device dressing for the resident about two hours later and there “was no date or time on the dressing.”
A comprehensive review of the Treatment Administration Record revealed that “the last dressing change was performed on June 15, 2018, and the next dressing change was due on June 18, 2018. Documentation revealed the dressing change was not completed on June 18, 2018.”
During an interview with a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN), it was revealed that “staff should have dated the bandage on [the resident’s] device and documented the dressing change on the Treatment Administration Record. She stated that if the wound [treatment] was not documented, it was not done.”
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated May 18, 2017, a state surveyor documented that the facility had failed to “have an effective system in place to ensure the resident environment remained as free from accident hazards as was possible.
Observation on May 16, 2017, revealed an unsecured liquid medication at [the resident’s] bedside even though the facility had assessed the resident to be cognitively impaired and the resident had not been assessed for self-administration of the medication.”
Further observation by the investigative team “revealed and unlocked and unattended dirty linens room that contained dirty linens and other hazardous items such as chemicals which were assessable to residents.” Additionally, an observation on May 17, 2017, revealed: “a door opened to an unattended therapy room where two pairs of large sharp scissors and a screwdriver with point and was unsecured on top of the desk.”
The survey team also observed “an unattended office located within the therapy room with the door open. Further observation revealed a large, sharp pair of scissors laying on top of the desk, unsecured and accessible to residents.”
As a part of the investigation, the survey team reviewed the facility’s Wander List that revealed that the nursing home “had one resident in the facility that the facility assessed as a wander.”
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated March 1, 2018, the state survey team documented that the facility had failed to “follow the Care Plan related to a change in condition and Physician notification for one resident.”
A review of a resident’s Physician Progress Notes identified that the facility “did not assess that the resident had a change in condition and did not notify the Physician of the abnormal lab results.” As a part of the investigation, the survey team reviewed the facility’s policy titled: Person-Center Care Plan dated November 28, 2016, that reads in part:
“The purpose of the Care Plan is to attain or maintain the patient’s highest practicable physical, mental, and psychosocial well-being.”
“A comprehensive person-centered Care Plan must describe services that are to be furnished by the facility.”
The surveyors reviewed a resident’s Care Plan dated December 20, 2017, that revealed that the resident “exhibited or was at risk for respiratory complications with interventions to observe and record secretions for color, amount, and odor as needed.” The resident was observed, “for signs/symptoms of dyspnea [difficult or labored breathing], the use of accessory muscles indicating respiratory distress and report to the position as indicated and assess for changes.”
The Care Plan also documented that the resident “exhibited or was at risk for gastrointestinal symptoms with interventions, dated January 10, 2018, to observe for signs and symptoms of dehydration and report to the physician. Also, the resident had an indwelling urinary catheter with interventions, initiated on December 20, 2017, to observe for signs and symptoms of infection and report to the physician.”
A review of the resident’s Physician’s orders and laboratory report documented results of the “resident’s BUN (Blood Urea Nitrogen – Kidney Function) resulted in 48 of the normal range as listed as 7 to 25 mg/dL.” However, a review of the resident’s Nursing Progress Notes dated between January 19, 2018, through January 22, 2018, revealed that “there were no entries [that] the Physician was notified of the abnormal lab results collected on January 19, 2018. Also, there was no evidence nursing staff monitored for a change in condition related to the abnormal test results.”
Do you believe that your loved one suffered mistreatment, abuse or neglect while living at Klondike 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 Jefferson County victims of mistreatment living in long-term facilities including nursing homes in Louisville. Contact us now to schedule a free case review to discuss how to obtain justice and resolve a financial compensation claim.
Our abuse and mistreatment injury attorneys represent victims injured by neglect of the nursing staff. Our network of attorneys working on your behalf can ensure your family receives adequate financial recompense for the injuries, harm, losses, and damages your loved one has endured by others. Our attorneys accept every case concerning wrongful death, personal injury and nursing home abuse through a contingency fee agreement. This arrangement postpones the need to make a payment to pay for legal services until after your case is successfully resolved through a jury trial award or negotiated out of court settlement.
We offer all clients a “No Win/No-Fee” Guarantee. This promise ensures your family will owe us nothing if we cannot obtain compensation to recover your damages. Let our team begin working on your case today to ensure you receive adequate compensation. All the information you share with our law offices will remain confidential.
Sources:
Attorney Carey Acerra
Licensed in Kentucky
Chicago Nursing Home Injury Attorney Nursing Home Law Center LLC Home