Mistreatment of the elderly, infirm, disabled or rehabilitating patients in a nursing home is unacceptable, disgraceful and reprehensible. Unfortunately, families who entrusted the care of their loved one to the staff at a nursing facility are horrified when they learn that the family member was treated without compassion or harmed in an unsafe environment. Sadly, neglect and abuse in nursing homes happen all too often where the victim is physically, mentally or emotionally scarred for the remainder of their days.
The Tennessee Nursing Home Law Center attorneys have represented many Cocke County nursing home residents who have suffered injuries or died unexpectedly from an incident or mistreatment that could have been prevented. Our dedicated staff of attorneys fights aggressively on behalf of our clients to ensure they receive financial compensation to recover their damages. Let us help your family too. Contact us today so we can begin working on your case now.
This Medicare/Medicaid-participating nursing center is a "for profit" home providing services to residents of Newport and Cocke County, Tennessee. The 150-certified bed long-term care (LTC) facility is located at:
135 Generation Drive
Newport, Tennessee, 37821
(423) 623-0929
In addition to providing 24/7 skilled nursing care, Newport Health and Rehabilitation Center also offers:
The investigators working for the state of Tennessee and the federal government have the legal authority to impose monetary fines and deny payment for Medicare services if the nursing home has been cited for serious violations of established regulations and rules. Within the last three years, investigators fined Newport Health and Rehabilitation Center once on May 19, 2016, for $105,235.
Also, Medicare denied payment for services rendered on May 19, 2016, and the nursing facility received eight formally filed complaints and self-reported two serious issues that resulted in citations within the last thirty-six months. Additional information about fines and penalties can be found on the Tennessee Department of Health Nursing Home Reporting Website concerning this nursing home.
A list of opened investigations, safety concerns, incident inquiries, dangerous hazards, filed complaints, and health violations on statewide long-term care homes can be reviewed on database websites at Tennessee Department of Public Health and Medicare.gov. Many families use this data to determine the best facility to place a loved one who requires the highest level of skilled health care and hygiene assistance.
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 Cocke County neglect attorneys at Nursing Home Law Center have found serious deficiencies and safety concerns at Newport Health and Rehabilitation Center that include:
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated May 24, 2017, the state investigators noted that the facility had failed to “ensure advance directives for appropriate care and treatment were identified in the resident’s records for one of the twenty-seven residents reviewed.” The state investigators reviewed the facility’s policy titled: Advanced Directives revised in February 2017 that reads in part:
“The resident has the right to accept or refuse medical or surgical treatment and to formulate an advance directive. Specific instructions on the types of treatment are withheld [are] maintained in the resident’s clinical record.”
The surveyors reviewed the resident’s medical records and admission records dated February 9, 2017, that revealed an advance directive of “Do Not Resuscitate – DNR.” A review of the resident’s Physician’s Order Sheet shows that the resident was receiving treatment and requested “antibiotics, intravenous fluids, and a feeding tube.”
The resident’s Advanced Practice Nurse-Board Certified Progress Note dated April 18, 2017, revealed Comfort Care and that the “patient is a DNR with no intubation and wants comfort measures only.” The surveyors interviewed the facility Director of Nursing who confirmed: “the facility was responsible for a valid POST/POLST” used as an advance directive.
However, the Director also confirmed that the resident had two opposing POST/POLST documents regarding resuscitation. During an interview with the facility Administrator, it was confirmed that “the facility failed to ensure the resident’s advance directives were clearly documented in the resident’s medical record.”
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated May 24, 2017, the state investigator documented the facility’s failure to “notify the power of attorney (POA) of discharge from the facility.” The deficient practice by the nursing staff and administration involved one of the twenty-seven residents reviewed.” The incident involved a resident whose Admission Record Face Sheet “revealed their power of attorney was the resident’s caseworker.”
The state survey team interviewed the resident’s MDS (Minimum Data Set) Discharge Records dated November 23, 2017, and January 17, 2017. The documents revealed that the resident was discharged from the hospital. However, a review of the resident’s medical records “revealed no documentation of notification to [the resident’s] power of attorney of the discharges from the facility.”
The investigators then interviewed the facility Social Worker who confirmed: “that the facility failed to notify the power of attorney of the discharges from the facility on November 23, 2016, and January 17, 2017.”
“Purpose: The facility will work with the resident, resident’s families, and the responsible party when a resident is admitted, or a room move is requested by one of the parties. The facility will promptly notify the resident’s and the resident’s legal representatives or interested family members (if known) when there is a change in a room or roommate assignment.”
“[Before] making a room change, all parties involved (residents and the representative) will be provided a 48-hour advanced notice of such change whenever possible.” “The notice of a change in room assignment will be in writing using the Notification of a Room Change.”
The survey team reviewed a resident’s medical records that showed the resident was suffering from disordered thinking since November 25, 2015. The records also indicated that there was a medication review for the resident’s “impulsivity and anxiety.” The documentation revealed “the clinical status and impression presented with partially resulting impulsivity, anxiety, the resident’s risk was mild, and a medication change was unnecessary.”
The survey team conducted a telephone interview with the resident’s family member who revealed that they were “notified by the Interim Administrator that the facility was considering moving the resident into another room on April 5, 2016. Later that same morning at 11:22 AM, the Interim Administrator asked the family to pay for a private room [and] asked for time to decide whether to pay for a private room with family members and asked the Social Worker and Administrator to reconsider the decision because the resident could not easily room with another resident.”
The family member stated that the resident “did not tolerate noise or lights in the room after 8:00 PM. The Interim Administrator responded that this was a business to make money and [the resident] was in a private room and was to be moved into a shared room.”
During the interview, one family member stated that they had received a call from another family member “from the nursing home” who informed them that “the resident had been moved [but that] none of the resident’s belongings were in the old room.” The family member question “the Interim Administrator about the sudden move of the resident’s belongings.” The Administrator commented that they had forgotten “to call the complainant back and that had nothing to do with the move.”
The surveyors interviewed an administrative staff member on the afternoon of May 19, 2016, that revealed a “had documentation of the room change notification for the [the resident].” However, when the surveyors reviewed the documentation by the administrative staff member, there were notations “of communication between the Interim Administrator and the resident’s family [that] was not as comprehensive as the complainant’s account of the events on April 5, 2016.”
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated May 19, 2016, the state surveyor noted that the facility's failure to "complete and accurate and thorough investigation for one resident and fail to report an injury of unknown origin to the State Agency.” The incident involved a cognitively intact resident.
The investigative team reviewed a statement from an administrative staff member who claimed that “while I was visiting [the resident] at the hospital, the resident stated [that their] purse was missing and had we looked in the drawers and the hospital room.” The administrative staff member said that they had searched the “hospital room and it was not there.” The purse had money inside.
The staff member asked others at the nursing home to “go into the resident’s room to see if the staff could locate the purse. In about ten minutes, the staff at the facility returned [and stated that they had] found the resident’s purse and a purple bag but there was only $7.00 inside.”
The resident’s son arrived at the hospital to take the resident and their belongings and stated that “the resident had at least $60 but did not know if the resident had bought a drink or anything. The son got a call from the hospital at the time stating the resident was returning to the facility.” At some point “while the family was sitting at the resident’s bedside (the resident’s son) again mentioned the missing money.”
The surveyors reviewed the investigation report of the occurrence that show that the resident “was discharged from the hospital and while at the hospital, the resident called and asked the staff to see if [their] purse was at the facility.”
The resident stated “it had $70.00 in it. The staff said that it had only $7.00 in it. The resident died in the hospital, so the determination could not be made [whether] the resident actually had the money. The facility’s investigation also lacked statements from additional residents to see if they had experienced a loss of money.”
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated May 19, 2016, the state investigators documented that the facility had failed to “develop an abuse policy to include how the facility would scream their employees [before] hire and how the facility would protect the residents during an investigation. The facility also failed to complete reference checks for one employee before hire and failed to check the licensing board for an active license for a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN).”
A review of the facility policy titled: Abuse “did not document how the facility would screen the employees. The facility also documented the facility would protect residents during the investigation but did not document how they would protect the residents.”
The investigators interviewed the facility Administrator and a licensed nurse who revealed that “the facility should complete two background checks on each employee [before] hire. The facility failed to complete background checks for this employee [before] hire.”
If your loved one has been injured or died unexpectedly while residing at Newport Health and Rehabilitation Center, call the Tennessee nursing home abuse lawyers at Nursing Home Law Center at (800) 926-7565 now for legal help. Our network of attorneys fights aggressively on behalf of Cocke County victims of mistreatment living in long-term facilities including nursing homes in Newport.
Our seasoned attorneys represent residents who were harmed by caregiver negligence or abuse. We have years of experience in successfully resolving recompense claims to ensure our clients receive the compensation they deserve. Contact us now to schedule a free case review to discuss how to obtain justice and resolve a financial compensation claim. We can start working on your case now to ensure your rights are protected.
We accept all nursing home cases involving personal injury, abuse, and wrongful death through a contingency fee agreement. This arrangement will postpone payment of our legal services until after our lawyers have resolved your case through a negotiated settlement or jury trial award. We can start working on your claim today to make sure you and your family receive monetary recovery for your damages. All information you share with our law offices will remain confidential.
Attorney Cameron Jehl
Licensed in Tennessee
Tennessee Nursing Home Injury Lawyer Nursing Home Law Center LLC Home