Ohio Nursing Home Ratings & Safety Violation Information

According to Medicare.gov, there are 969 nursing homes in Ohio. While 622 (64%) of these nursing homes rank average or above on the level of care they provide, the remaining 326 (36%) have below average and much below average ratings. This substandard level of care falls below the acceptable rating allowed by Medicaid and Medicare.

Relocating an elderly loved one into a nursing facility is often a challenging, but necessary, decision to ensure they receive the best care. Unfortunately, according to statistics, millions of senior citizens become the victims of abuse in the US every year. Studies indicate that the abused die earlier than residents who are well cared for because they do not suffer the same chronic or life-threatening conditions that diminish the quality of life.

Some senior citizens are the victims of physical, emotional or sexual abuse, suffer financial exploitation or are neglected by their caregivers. As the population of senior citizens continues to rise, so too does the occurrences of abuse and neglect. Many of these individuals feel helpless without a legal advocate to protect their rights to dignity and respect.

Below, our attorneys have assembled a list of common problems associated with nursing homes providing care to vulnerable adults. These issues involved pressure sores, accidental injuries, preventable falls, elopement (wandering away), improper medication practices, dehydration, malnutrition, and ongoing violations of federal or state regulations.

A resident can experience accidents, injuries, or death if the nursing home fails to take appropriate measures to provide and maintain a safe environment. Serious concerns at Ohio nursing homes involving accident hazards and dangerous situations include:

• The nursing facility failed to provide supervision and assistance while transferring a resident who fell and sustained a leg fracture (Altercare Adena Nursing Center)
• A resident sustained actual harm involving a second-degree burn to the lower leg when the baseboard heating unit was placed too close to the bed (Beechwood Pointe Care Center)

Every nursing home has a legal obligation to ensure that each resident in the facility is Free from abuse, neglect or mistreatment. Sadly, many patients are victims of physical, verbal, mental or sexual assault because the nursing home failed to protect from aggressive actions by caregivers, visitors, and other patients. Serious concerns involving a failure to protect residents from abuse include:

• A male resident struck a female resident after a verbal altercation and grabbed her arm causing physical injury (Blue Ash Care Center)
• A resident was subjected to physical and verbal abuse by a contract the dentist who forced the resident’s mouth open to remove a denture mold while calling the resident a derogatory name (Belmont Manor Nursing Center)
• A resident was subjected to verbal abuse when a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) yelled and swore at the resident (Carriage Inn at Cadiz Nursing Center)
• A patient was punched in the back by another patient with behavioral issues including hitting, kicking, scratching, grabbing, and abusing others a sexually (Cityview Health Care and Rehab Center)

The spread of infection in a nursing home can cause severe problems that could have been avoided had the medical team follow established protocols. Many problems associated with the staff not sanitizing their hands, properly handling soiled linens, or using personal protective equipment. Serious concerns involving the spread of infection at Ohio nursing homes include:

• One nursing home did not perform annual skin tests for tuberculosis on employees as a safeguard exposure to contagious disease (Altercare Adena Nursing Center)
• The nursing home did not follow proper handwashing procedures when providing care, exposing residents to the potential spread of infection (Arbors at Marietta Nursing Center)
• A resident’s health was compromised when the staff failed to follow acceptable standard of care involving handwashing to prevent the spread of infection – (Canfield Health Care Center)

The staff at a nursing facility has a legal and ethical obligation to follow established protocols to prevent facility-acquired bedsores, decubitus ulcers, pressure ulcers, pressure sores, and pressure wounds. Serious concerns involving the development of bedsores in Ohio nursing homes that could harm the residents include:

• The nursing home caused actual harm when the resident developed facility acquired bedsores due to a lack of care (Arbors East Sub-Acute and Rehab Center, Belmont Manor Nursing Center, Blue Ash Care Center, Centerville Health and Rehab Center)
• The facility did not adequately treat or monitor a resident’s pressure ulcers that resulted in bleeding through the pressure ulcer dressing that seeped end of the resident’s clothing and onto the floor (Astoria Skilled Nursing and Rehab Center)

Other serious safety concerns include a failure to notify the resident’s doctor or responsible party when there is a change in the resident’s condition including a significant decline in their medical condition. Serious harm can occur to the resident if the doctor or responsible party is not aware of problems that require making an informed decision to improve the patient’s life.

Many nursing homes in Ohio failed to maintain adequate safety and health policies including creating sanitary and clean conditions in each patient’s room or the common areas.