Every nursing facility nationwide has an ethical obligation to provide each resident the highest level of care following established standards of quality. Unfortunately, many nursing home patients become the victim of abuse and neglect and develop life-threatening bedsores, suffer injuries from falls, or mistreatment at the hands of caregivers, employees, and other residents.
The Arkansas nursing home neglect attorneys have represented many Pulaski County nursing home victims to ensure their abusers are held legally and financially accountable. Contact us today so our team of lawyers can successfully resolve your monetary compensation case against all those responsible for your mistreatment. We can begin working on your claim now.
This nursing home is a "for-profit" center providing cares and services to residents of Little Rock and Pulaski County, Arkansas. The Medicare/Medicaid-participating 120-certified bed nursing facility is located at:
3001 Aldersgate Road
Little Rock, Arkansas, 72205
(501) 217-9774
In addition to providing skilled nursing care, Nursing and Rehabilitation Center at Good Shepherd also offers:
Fined $61,083 for substandard care
State investigators working on behalf of the federal government, Medicare and Medicaid have the legal authority to impose monetary fines or deny payment for Medicare services to any nursing facility that has violated rules and regulations.
Within the last three years, the federal government imposed a $61,083 monetary fine against Nursing and Rehabilitation Center at Good Shepherd on September 28, 2017. Also, the facility received six formally filed complaints in the last thirty-six months. Additional information concerning penalties and fines can be found on the Arkansas Adult Protective Services website concerning this nursing home.
The state of Arkansas routinely updates their long-term care home database system to reflect all filed complaints, opened investigations, safety concerns, incident inquiries, health violations, and dangerous hazards. This information can be found on numerous sites including the AR Department of Public Health and Medicare.gov.
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 four out of five stars for quality measures. The Pulaski County neglect attorneys at Nursing Home Law Center have found serious deficiencies and safety concerns at Nursing and Rehabilitation Center at Good Shepherd that include:
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated June 29, 2018, the state investigator documented the nursing home failure to “ensure the facility’s Abuse and Neglect Policies and Procedures were implemented, as evidenced by the failure to ensure a resident’s allegation of possible abuse was immediately reported to the administration, which resulted in a delay of initiating an investigation.” The deficient practice by the nursing staff involved one of five residents “who resided in the facility. This failed practice had the potential to affect 107 residents who resided in the facility.” The state investigator reviewed the facility’s policy titled: Abuse, Neglect, Misappropriation and Exploitation Investigation and Reporting that reads in part:
“All facility personnel, including all employees and any physician, the owner, and the Administrator, must immediately report all incidents of alleged, witnessed or suspected resident maltreatment, including abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, misappropriation of resident property, and exploitation of residents to the Administrator or the Administrator’s designee.”
The individuals who receive the report must “report events as required by state law or regulation. All alleged violations will be reported immediately, but not later than two hours after the allegation is made, if the events that cause the allegation involving abuse or result in serious bodily injury, or not later than 24 hours if the events that caused the allegation do not involve abuse and do not result in serious bodily injury.”
The survey team stated that the Office of Long Term Care (OLTC), Division of Medical Services documented that the Administrator had received a call from the OLTC “on May 23, 2018, at 12:40 PM.” The report states that the Administrator “received an allegation that on May 22, 2018, during the night shift, someone entered [a resident’s room] to change her, and inappropriately touched her, and that is all the information she had.”
The documentation states that the Director of Nursing and Assistant Director of Nursing interviewed the resident who “denies that anything happened to her. When the family was called to report the incident to them, they denied her telling them, or having any knowledge of the alleged incident. When police arrived and were given the information, they also interviewed the resident who again denied anything happening to her. Upon further investigation, it was noted that on May 20, 2018, on the night shift, there was a Urinalysis/Culture and Sensitivity obtained on this resident which came back with mixed results.”
There was a subsequent Urinalysis/Culture and Sensitivity sample “obtained on May 22, 2018, which also came back mixed.” A third urinalysis sample was obtained the following day on “May 23, 2018, which came back positive for ESBL (Extended Spectrum Beta-Lactamase).
The investigative team reviewed the camera recording of the hallway that revealed caregivers entering the resident’s room “during the time frame that led up to the alleged incident.”
The investiagation revealted that at “no time during this time did the resident make any complaints to the facility of someone entering her room and touching her inappropriately. It is also noted that no one complained on the resident’s behalf to the facility until the facility received a phone call from the OLTC. It is possible that since the resident had three in an out catheters for urinalysis during the timeframe that she or someone could have thought it was inappropriate. However, the resident denies anything ever happened to her.”
In a separate summary statement of deficiencies dated September 20, 2016, the state investigators documented that the facility had failed to “ensure an allegation of abuse was immediately reported to the Administrator, which resulted in a delay of initiating an investigation of the alleged incident. The survey team also documented the facility’s failure to “immediately implement protective measures to prevent further potential abuse for [one resident of three residents] who are cognitively impaired. This failed practice had the potential to affect eighty-one residents who are cognitively impaired."
The investigative team interviewed the facility Director of Nursing on the afternoon of September 20, 2016, and asked, “when she became aware of the resident’s abuse allegation.” The Director responded, “the first thing I heard about it was when OLTC (Office of Long Term Care) called the Assistant Administrator. I went to the [Licensed Practical Nurse and she said the resident] came up to her and alleged someone kicked him, but she did not report that.” The surveyors stated that Complaint AR 479 “was substantiated (all or in part) of the [above] findings.”
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated June 29, 2018, the state investigators documented that the facility had failed to “ensure a resident’s allegation of possible abuse was immediately reported to the Administrator, which resulted in the delay of initiating protective measures to prevent further potential abuse or neglect and in initiating an investigation.” The state investigator documented that “this failed practice had the potential to affect 107 residents who resided in the facility.”
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated July 20, 2017, the state survey team noted that the nursing home had failed to “ensure staff changed gloves and wash their hands between dirty and clean tasks during and after incontinent care before handling clean linens to prevent the potential spread of infection.” The deficient practice by the nursing staff involved one of two residents “who resided on the 700 Hallway and required assistance with incontinent care. The failed practice had the potential to affect eight residents who resided on the 700 hallway and required assistance with incontinent care.”
The survey team observed Certified Nursing Assistants providing care to residents who had not following established policies, procedures, and protocols that could lead to the spread of infection at the facility. One state investigator interviewed the Director of Nursing on the afternoon of July 18, 2018, and asked, “When should a CNA perform hand hygiene or wash hands while providing care to a resident?” The Director responded “Upon entering the room, if they are soiled and at exit. Any time between dirty and clean tasks.”
The inspector then asked, “If you leave the room to get something and come back, should you perform hand hygiene?” The Director replied, “Yes.” The Director also said, “They should wash hands any time they entered” the room.”
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated July 20, 2017, the state investigators documented that the facility had failed to “ensure necessary care and services were provided for the management of diabetes mellitus, as evidenced by the failure to follow routine and sliding-scale insulin orders and consult with the physician when the Capillary Blood Glucose (CBG) results were outside of the physician-ordered parameters.” The deficient practice by the nursing staff involved two of six residents “who had physician’s orders [for their diabetic condition].”
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated November 17, 2017, the investigators documented that the facility had failed to “ensure portable oxygen cylinders in [one of the facility’s storage rooms] was secured during storage to prevent them from tipping over.” This failure “could cause punctures or ruptures to the pressurized cylinders and result in resident injury. The failed practice had the potential to affect thirteen residents who resided in the 500 Hall and seventeen residents in Rooms 601 through 610 on the 600 Hall.”
The state investigator conducted an environmental tour of the Nursing and Rehabilitation Center at Good Shepherd on the afternoon of November 15, 2017 and saw two unsecured oxygen cylinders in the 600 Hall oxygen storage room sitting upright. The Maintenance Supervisor stated, “Unfortunately, I see two unsecured oxygen cylinders.” The survey team interviewed the facility Assistant Director of Nursing less than 30 minutes later and asked: “How should the oxygen cylinders be stored?” The Assistant Director responded, “in the oxygen room, secured in a holder.”
If your loved one has been injured or harmed while living at Nursing and Rehabilitation Center at Good Shepherd, call the Arkansas nursing home abuse attorneys at Nursing Home Law Center at (800) 926-7565 now. Our network of attorneys fights on behalf of Pulaski County victims of mistreatment living in long-term facilities including nursing homes in Little Rock. For years, our attorneys have successfully resolved nursing home abuse cases just like yours. Our experience can ensure a positive outcome in your claim for compensation against those that caused your loved one harm.
Contact us now to schedule a free case review to discuss how to obtain justice and resolve a financial compensation claim. Let us begin working on your behalf now to ensure your rights are protected. Our lawyers accept all cases involving wrongful death, nursing home neglect, or personal injury through a contingency fee agreement. This arrangement will postpone your need to make a payment for our legal services until after our attorneys have resolved your case through a jury trial award or negotiated out of court settlement.
We provide every client a “No Win/No-Fee” Guarantee, meaning you will owe us nothing if we cannot obtain compensation on your behalf. Let our network of attorneys start working on your case today to ensure your family receives the monetary recovery they deserve for your harm. All information you share with our law offices will remain confidential.
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