Many families have no other option than to turn their care of a loved one over to skilled nursing professionals to ensure they receive the highest level of services in a compassionate, safe environment. These medical professionals are required to follow established rules, regulations, and protocols. Unfortunately, abuse, mistreatment, and neglect continue to remain serious problems in nursing facilities nationwide.
The Colorado abuse injury lawyers at the Nursing Home Law Center have represented hundreds of nursing home victims throughout the state including in Jefferson County with cases just like yours. Contact us today to begin working on your case to ensure your family receives adequate monetary recovery for your financial damages.
If your loved one has been mistreated at Lakewood Villa Healthcare Center, contact our Colorado nursing home negligence lawyers.
This long-term care (LTC) home is a "for profit" 57-certified bed center providing cares and services to residents of Lakewood and Jefferson County, Colorado. The Medicare/Medicaid-participating facility is located at:
1625 Simms Street
Lakewood, Colorado, 80215
(303) 238-8161
Federal government nursing home regulatory agencies have the legal authority to penalize any nursing home with a denied payment for Medicare services or monetary fine when the facility has been cited for serious violations of regulations and rules.
Within the last three years, nursing home regulatory agencies have imposed a monetary fine of $22,092 against Lakewood Villa Healthcare Center on April 20, 2017, citing substandard care. Also, the facility received seventeen formally filed complaints that all resulted in citations. Additional information about penalties and fines can be found on the Colorado Department Of Public Health an Environment Department of Public Health Website concerning this nursing facility.
Information on every intermediate and long-term care home in the state can be reviewed on government-owned and operated database sites including the Medicare.gov and the Colorado Department of Public Health website. These regulatory agencies routinely update their comprehensive list of opened investigations, safety concerns, incident inquiries, dangerous hazards, filed complaints, and health violations on facilities 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, one out of five stars for staffing issues and three out of five stars for quality measures. The Jefferson County neglect attorneys at Nursing Home Law Center have found serious deficiencies and safety concerns at Lakewood Villa Healthcare Center that include:
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated April 5, 2018, the state investigators documented that the facility had failed to ensure three residents “were free from resident-to-resident abuse.” Specifically, “the facility failed to complete a thorough resident assessment [to] develop person-centered interventions for [one resident] and; provide adequate monitoring and supervision for [that resident] to prevent recurrence of resident-to-resident altercations.”
The survey team reviewed the facility’s policy titled: Abuse and Neglect – Clinical Protocol dated November 1, 2017, that reads in part:
“The facility management and staff will institute measures and address the needs of residents/patients and minimize the possibility of abuse and neglect.”
“The management and staff with the support of Physicians will address situations of suspected or identified abuse and report them [promptly] to appropriate agencies consistent with applicable laws and regulations.”
The incident involved a severely impaired 72-year-old resident whose MDS (Minimum Data Set) Assessment revealed the patient “with inattention and disorganized thinking. According to staff, he displays physical behaviors in one of three out of seven days, and he wanders daily. He requires extensive assistance with two people with personal hygiene and dressing.”
A review of the resident’s Care Plan revised on January 16, 2018, revealed “the resident’s behavior included being very intrusive with others personal space. He will pretend he is boxing and move for surround while he is smiling/laughing. He will also tease others such as grabbing their glasses, etc. He has the potential to be physically aggressive related to dementia.”
A review of a resident’s Nurse’s Notes marked 1:30 PM on February 19, 2018, revealed that the resident “was witnessed shadowboxing [another resident], striking him in the mouth.” The injured resident “sustained a laceration to his lower lip. He denied fear, stating ‘he came into my room and hit me.’ Both residents were placed on 15-minute checks for seventy-two hours.”
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated February 20, 2017, the state investigator documented the facility’s failure to “immediately inform the resident, consult with the resident’s Physician and, if known, notify the legal representative or an interested family member of a significant change in the resident’s physical, mental, or psychosocial status.” The deficient practice by the nursing staff involved two residents “reviewed for notification.”
The state investigative team said that specifically, the facility “failed to notify [one resident’s] guardian of a change in antibiotic therapy and failed to notify [another resident’s] physician of four missed doses of [of their medication].” The investigators reviewed the facility’s policy and procedures title: Resident’s Condition or Status that was revised in November 2015. The documentation reads in part:
“The facility will promptly notify the resident, his or her attending Physician, and representative of changes in the resident’s medical/mental condition or status.
The nurse will notify the resident’s attending Physician when there is a refusal of treatment or medications (i.e., two or more consecutive times). The nurse will notify the resident’s family or representative when there is a significant change in the resident’s physical, mental, or psychosocial status.”
One incident involved an 86-year-old severely cognitively impaired resident who requires “extensive assistance of two persons for bed mobility, transfers, dressing and toilet use. She required limited assistance of one person with eating and extensive assistance of one person with personal hygiene. She was frequently incontinent of bladder and always incontinent of bowel.”
The survey team reviewed the resident’s Nurse’s Notes that shows the resident was taking an antibiotic that was discontinued and [another antibiotic] was started. “The note failed to reveal the resident’s guardian was notified of a change in the medication.”
As a part of the state’s investigation, the surveyors interviewed a Registered Nurse (RN) who said that “changes in the medication should be reported to the resident’s guardian family members.” The Director of Nursing stated that “the resident’s guardian should have been notified of a change in the antibody treatment.”
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated April 20, 2017, the state investigator noted that “the facility failed to ensure implementation of its abuse and investigation policies and procedures.” The surveyor said that “specifically, the facility failed to thoroughly investigate all allegations of missing property and verbal abuse.”
One incident involved an 87-year-old severely, cognitively impaired resident. Documentation shows that the resident’s “mood and behaviors included [a medical condition], feeling tired or having little energy, wandering, and trouble concentrating or focusing on tasks. The resident requires limited assistance from one staff for transfers, positioning in bed, dressing, personal hygiene, toileting, and walking in the corridor.” The documentation shows that the resident “also required staff while eating, walking [in the resident’s room] and locomotion on-and-off the unit.”
The surveyors interviewed the resident’s “legal representative” who reported that “on several occasions between November 2016 and January 2017 in which [the resident] had missing personal belongings, an allegation of verbal abuse, elopement [wandering away from the home] and falls with injury.”
The legal representative said that “his black pants, jeans, and other clothing went missing, but she was not sure how long ago. She said she had seen other residents wearing the resident’s clothes. She said the clothing was not found and was still missing. She said the facility staff knew about the missing clothes. She said she told the laundry associate and a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) and had discussed it at a meeting.”
The legal representative “said she insisted on a lock on his closet.” The surveyors observed the resident’s room and observed a lock “on the resident’s armoire.”
The investigative team interviewed the facility Social Services Director who stated that “she was not aware of [the resident’s] missing clothes, other resident’s missing clothes or residents wearing others clothing.” The Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) that provides the resident care said “she was very careful with his clothes. They also said that that is why he has a lock on his armoire.”
During a discussion with the housekeeping supervisor, it was revealed that “she had been working at the facility for about a month [and] was not aware of any missing clothes.”
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated April 20, 2017, the state investigators noted a serious failure at the facility. The documentation shows that the nursing home failed to “ensure three residents “for pressure ulcers received care and necessary treatment and services [that is] consistent with professional standards of practice, to promote healing, prevent infection and prevent new ulcers from developing.”
The state investigators noted that “specifically, the facility failed to adequately and consistently assess and document pressure ulcers on [one resident] and failed to provide timely repositioning assistance to [two] dependent residents.”
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated April 20, 2017, a state surveyor documented that the facility had failed to “ensure a resident with a limited range of motion received appropriate treatment and services to increase the range of motion or prevent further decrease in range of motion.” The deficient practice by the nursing staff involved two of three residents reviewed for “range of motion concerns.”
The investigators documented that the nursing home had specifically “failed to periodically assess [one resident’s] physical condition, the range of motion and functional status of changes.” The nursing facility also “failed to provide a restorative range of motion and splinting treatment and services timely after a recommendation made by the Occupational Therapy for [that resident] and failed to provide a restorative range of motion and splinting treatment and services consistently for [the resident].”
The nursing home also “failed to periodically assess [a second resident’s] physical condition, range of motion and functional status for changes.” The home also “failed to timely identify [the second resident’s] decrease and functional mobility, decrease in transfers, decrease in range of motion and reduce balance by placing her at risk for injuries.”
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated April 20, 2017, the investigative team documented that the facility had failed to “ensure the residents’ environment remain as free from accident hazards as possible and provide adequate supervision and assistive devices to prevent accidents.” The deficient practice by the nursing staff involved four residents “reviewed for accidents.”
The documentation shows that the facility specifically “failed to ensure fall interventions were followed consistently to prevent additional falls for [two residents].” The nursing facility also “failed to thoroughly investigate bruising of an unknown origin for [one of those two residents].”
The nursing home also “failed to ensure post-injury interventions were used consistently for [a third resident] and failed to conduct an assessment after a fall for [a fourth resident].” The documentation shows that the nursing home “failed to complete a thorough investigation of bruises and no evaluation of a wheelchair fit or transferring needs was completed.”
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated April 20, 2017, a state investigator noted the nursing home's failure to “follow proper infection control procedures to ensure safety and sanitary conditions were maintained to prevent the development and transmission of disease and infection.”
The state survey team said that the nursing home specifically “failed to use proper handwashing technique during perineal care to reduce the spread of infections and failed to ensure residents towel racks were individually labeled.” The nursing home had also “failed to ensure chemicals were used properly and failed to obtain current informed consent for influenza and pneumococcal vaccines.”
Do you suspect that loved one was neglected, abused or mistreated while living at Lakewood Villa Healthcare Center? If so, contact the Colorado nursing home abuse attorneys at Nursing Home Law Center at (800) 926-7565 now 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 Lakewood and can help you too. Contact us now to schedule a free case review to discuss how to obtain justice and resolve a financial compensation claim.
Our seasoned attorneys provide legal representation to LTC home residents who have been harmed by negligence and abuse. Our legal team has years of experience in successfully resolving claims for compensation against caregivers who must be held accountable. We accept all nursing home cases involving personal injury, abuse, and wrongful death through a contingency fee arrangement. This agreement postpones the requirement to make a payment to our network of attorneys until after we have successfully resolved your claim for compensation through a negotiated out of court settlement or jury trial award.
Our network of attorneys offers every client a “No Win/No-Fee” Guarantee, meaning if we are unable to resolve your case successfully, you owe us nothing. We can begin representing you in your case today to ensure you receive adequate compensation for your damages. All information you share with our law offices will remain confidential.
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