At the Nursing Home Law Center, our South Carolina network of attorneys work aggressively to hold caregivers in nursing homes, assisted living centers and rehabilitation facilities accountable for mistreating the elderly, infirm and disabled. Our entire team is dedicated to resolving nursing home abuse and neglect cases and have a comprehensive understanding of South Carolina tort law. If your loved one was injured while a resident at a nursing facility, we encourage you to contact our law office today. Let our lawyers begin working on your case to ensure your family receives the financial compensation they deserve to recover their damages.
This Nursing Facility is a corporate 148-certified bed 'for profit' Home providing services and cares to residents of North Charleston and Berkeley, Charleston and Dorchester Counties, South Carolina. The Medicare/Medicaid-accepted Center is located at:
2600 Elms Plantation Blvd
North Charleston, SC 29406
843-764-3500
In addition to providing long-term nursing care, the facility also offers rehabilitation and clinical services.
The federal government and the state of South Carolina routinely monitor every nursing facility to identify serious violations of established rules and regulations and levy monetary fines or deny payments through Medicare when problems are found. Typically, these violations result in penalties when investigators found severe problems that harmed or could have harmed a resident. Over the last three years, investigators imposed a $13,627 fine on August 3, 2017. Additional information about penalties and fines can be found on the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control website concerning Life Care Center of Charleston.
To ensure the families are fully informed of the services and care that nursing home offers in their community, the federal government and state of South Carolina routinely update their completed list of filed complaints, dangerous hazards, health violations, safety concerns, incident inquiries, and opened investigations of Homes nationwide. This information can be used to make an informed decision before placing a loved one in a facility.
Currently, Life Care Center of Charles maintains an overall one out of five available star rating in the Medicare star rating summary system compared to all other facilities in the United States. This rating includes one of five stars for health inspection problems, three of five stars for staffing issues, and three of five stars for quality measures. The North Charleston nursing home neglect attorneys at Nursing Home Law Center have located various safety concerns, violations, and deficiencies at this nursing facility that include:
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated September 21, 2016, the state investigator documented the facility's failure to "immediately notify family member of a change in condition for [one resident] when the resident was transferred to the emergency room." The investigator's report included an interview with the resident's father on September 19, 2016, that revealedhis "daughter was sent to the emergency room for an evaluation after a fall that morning. He stated she was currently being returned to the facility and stated that she had not sustained any injuries, but due to the resident's declining health condition the facility sent her out for an evaluation."
The resident's father said that "when his daughter fell, the facility called her husband and left a message when he did not answer. The policy stated he was next on the notification list to be notified of any concerns with his daughter and the facility failed to call him. He verbalized that he is at the facility every day and is involved in [his daughter's] care and he should have been called when they were not able to reach her husband so that he could go to the emergency room to be with his daughter."
The investigator reviewed the resident's Nurse's Progress Notes involved in the incident that revealed that "the nurse called [the resident's] husband, but he did not answer so a message was left that the resident was being sent to the emergency room for evaluation." The investigator interviewed the facility Director Nursing and shared the resident's "father's concern regarding not being notified of the transferred to the emergency room for evaluation." The Director "verified that the staff should have called the resident's father who was next on the list when they were unable to verbally reach her husband."
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated September 21, 2016, the state investigator documented the facility's failure "to provide services to restore or improve normal bladder function to the extent possible for [a resident] investigated as a Stage II for a decline in Activities of Daily Living." The deficiency involved a resident who "had a decline to being frequently incontinent of urine. There was no evidence of a toileting program or new interventions to attempt to restore the resident's bladder function after the documented decline."
The investigator reviewed the resident's incontinence care plan dated June 15, 2017, that revealed "an intervention stating the staff were to consult with therapy is needed about toileting concerns. The Care Plan also revealed [the resident] required the physical assistance of two staff for toileting needs." The investigators interviewed the MDS staff who verified that the resident's June 20, 2016 Minimum Data Set "was coded as the resident being occasionally [incontinent of urine] and the MDS on July 15, 2017, [it] was coded that [the resident] had declined being frequently incontinent of urine." A member of the MDS staff "also verified that when the resident experienced a decline in urinary incontinence, there were no new interventions initiated to attempt to restore the resident's previous bladder function."
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated January 13, 2016, the state investigator documented the facility's failure "to identify and track causative infection organisms for [the three months that were reviewed]." The investigator reviewed the facility's infection control surveillance logs during a specific timeframe during 2015 that "revealed no documentation of culture/organisms on the infection control line listing."
The investigator reviewed the health care-associated infections summary report by residents' days for October through December 2015 that "revealed 22 urinary tract infections and six skin disorders." The report also revealed that there were "24 urinary tract infections and seven skin infections, eleven urinary tract infections and six skin infections in December." However, "no organisms were documented except for Clostridium difficile infections."
The surveying team interviewed the facility Infection Control Nurse on January 13, 2016, who confirmed that "the organisms were not listed and stated [they] were never told to monitor the organism. When asked how [they] would identify a trend if [they] did not know the organism, the Infection Control Nurse stated she thought if there were a lot of UTIs (urinary tract infections) on one unit, that it would constitute a trend and did not know that the organisms needed to be tracked." The Infection Control Nurse stated that "she had been in the role for a year and that she had never tracked organisms."
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated January 13, 2016, the state investigator documented the facility's failure "to ensure that the physician's orders were followed for [one resident]." The deficient practice by the nursing staff involved a resident who "did not have a bruit and thrill checks per shift as ordered." The investigator's findings included a review of the resident's medical records on January 12, 2016, which revealed orders to monitor the resident's right "upper arm for fistula for thrill and bruit and signs and symptoms of bleeding on every shift. Further review of the medical record revealed there was no documentation to indicate the facility monitored [the resident's] right upper arm fistula for thrill or bruit for the shift on December 19, 2015, December 20, 2015, December 21, 2015, December 22, 2015, December 23, 2015, and December 28, 2015."
The state investigator interviewed the Registered Nurse providing the resident care who "confirmed the findings that there was no documentation the resident's right upper arm fistula for thrill and bruit was monitored per shift after reviewing nurse's notes and [the resident's] communication sheets for the above dates."
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated August 3, 2017, the state surveyor document at the facility's failure to "ensure that standards of clinical practice related to drug storage and administration established by the pharmaceutical company FDA (Food and Drug Administration) approved package inserts, and facilities' policy for [two units reviewed for professional standards]." The investigator documented that the Day Spring and MorningStar nursing staff "did not act on improper temperature controls." The investigator determined at 4:50 PM on July 31, 2017, that "an Immediate Jeopardy existed in the following areas starting on July 1, 2017, the facility staff first identified and recorded improper temperature controls with medication storage."
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated August 3, 2017, the state investigator documented the facility's failure to "ensure that medications were stored in [two medication room refrigerators] a temperature specified by the FDA approved package inserts, manufacturer package labeling at the facility's policies. Medication was being stored on the MorningStar and Day Spring unit below manufacturer specifications.
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated August 3, 2017, the state investigator documented the facility's failure to "assure that [one resident] reviewed for hospice services [and two residents] reviewed for unnecessary medications… one resident reviewed for urinary incontinence received accurate MDS (Minimum Data Set) Assessments."
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated January 13, 2016, the state investigator documented the facility's failure "to complete background checks prior to hire for [one new employee" a Licensed Practical Nurse was background check "was completed eight days after the start date."
The investigator reviewed the facility's policy titled: Screening Potential Employees that reads:
"This facility will conduct reference checks and criminal checks conviction investigation checks on all employees who apply for employment. Should the results of the background check disclose information indicating that the individual has been convicted of abuse, neglect or mistreatment…"
The surveying team interviewed the Human Resources Coordinator and the Administrator on January 13, 2016, who "confirmed the background check was not conducted prior to hire.
Nursing home abuse and neglect can be the result of various problems including a poorly trained staff, inadequate staffing, bad hiring practices, poor management, and issues that stem from other problems including extensive employee overtime. Many victims suffer the severe consequences of neglect and mistreatment including fractures, sepsis, bedsores, medication mistakes, choking, falling, life-threatening infections, physical abuse, sexual assault, dehydration, malnutrition and a lack of nursing care. Others die at the hands of their caregivers in events that could have been prevented had the staff taken proper measures and follow established regulated procedures and protocols.
Was your loved one was injured, mistreated, abused, or did they die unexpectedly from neglect while living in a nursing home in South Carolina, like Life Care Center of Charleston? If so, we encourage you to contact the Charleston County nursing home abuse lawyers at Nursing Home Law Center at (800) 926-7565 today to schedule a free case review to discuss a financial compensation claim to recover your damages. Our legal team accepts all personal injury claims and wrongful death lawsuits through contingency fee arrangements. This agreement will postpone your requirement to pay for legal services until after your case is successfully resolved in a jury trial or negotiated out of court settlement. We provide each client a "No Win/No-Fee" Guarantee. This promise ensures you will owe us nothing if we cannot obtain compensation on your behalf. Let us begin working on your case now to ensure all the necessary documentation and paperwork are filed in the proper county courthouse before the South Carolina statute of limitations expires concerning your case.
Attorney Nathan Hughey
Licensed in South Carolina
North Charleston Nursing Home Injury Attorney Nursing Home Law Center LLC Home