Every staff member working in a nursing facility has a legal and ethical responsibility to provide each resident with the highest level of care according to established standards of quality. Unfortunately, many nursing facilities do not follow established procedures and protocols that prevent injuries, accidents, and the development of life-threatening pressure wounds.
If you suspect that your loved one was victimized through neglect or abuse while living in a Russell County nursing facility, the Alabama nursing home affiliate attorneys can help. Let our team of abuse prevention lawyers work on your family’s behalf to ensure you receive financial compensation for your damages.
This Medicare and Medicaid-participating nursing center is a "for-profit" home providing services to residents of Phenix City and Russell County, Alabama. The 74-certified bed long-term care home is located at:
3301 Stadium Drive
Phenix City, Alabama 36867
(334) 297-0237
Parkwood Health Care Facility
In addition to providing around the clock skilled nursing care, Parkwood Health Care Facility offers other services. Additional focused care includes short-term and long term care, and physical, occupational, and speech therapies.
Fined $114,193 for substandard care
The investigators and surveyors for Medicare and the state of Alabama have the legal authority to impose monetary fines or deny payment for Medicare services any time a nursing home is cited for serious violations of regulations and rules.
Within the last three years, federal investigators imposed a monetary fine against Parkwood Health Care Facility for $114,193 on October 31, 2016, citing substandard care. During this time, Medicare denied payment on October 31, 2016, due to a lack of quality care.
The nursing home received seven complaints over the last three years that resulted in a violation citation. Additional information concerning the facility can be reviewed on the comprehensive Alabama Adult Protective Services Website.
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To ensure families are fully informed of the level of care every nursing home provides, the state of Alabama and Medicare.com routinely update their long-term care home database systems with info on violations, citations, and deficiencies.
According to Medicare, this facility maintains an overall rating of one out of five stars, including one out of five stars concerning health inspections, two out of five stars for staffing issues, and four out of five stars for quality measures.
The state investigators determined that the nursing home “failed to ensure a licensed nurse followed the Physician’s orders to treat [the resident’s] low blood sugar of sixty-four on September 24, 2016, at 5:10 AM.”
At that time, the nurse found the resident in bed “snoring, difficult to arouse, with a frothy white substance draining from the mouth.” The resident’s “blood pressure was elevated to a 188/110, higher than normal parameters, and his/her blood sugar was sixty-four, lower than normal parameters established by [the resident’s] doctor.”
The resident’s Care Plan “directed the staff to notify the Physician if the blood sugar was below seventy. However, the Physician was not called.” The oncoming nurse stated that she had “entered the resident’s room around 11:00 AM, found the resident unresponsive, with a distended (swollen) abdomen, and the resident’s blood sugar had dropped further to thirty-two.”
By 8:20 a.m., the nursing staff sent the resident “to the hospital by emergency medical services.” When the resident arrived at the hospital, the resident “was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit.” The surveyors determined that “this deficient practice affected [the resident] but had the potential to affect all twenty-five diabetic residents who reside in the facility.”
The “facility further failed to ensure the Physician’s orders were followed for [five residents] to perform blood sugar checks or treat the blood sugars with insulin coverage. This deficient practice affected [five of the twenty-five] diabetic residents who reside in the facility but had the potential to affect all twenty-five diabetic residents.”
The state investigators notified the Administrator and Director of Nursing at 8:00 AM on October 6, 2016, of “the findings of Immediate Jeopardy level of J in the area of resident assessments.”
The facility “further failed to ensure a licensed staff member did not sign the Medication Administration Record to indicate a medication was administered before administering medication to the resident.” The nursing home also failed to “ensure the Narcotic Record was not signed before the narcotic medication was removed from the lockbox and administered to the resident. These deficient practices affected three of five nurses observed during a medication administration.”
Were you the victim of mistreatment while you lived at Parkwood Health Care Facility? Contact the Alabama nursing home abuse prevention lawyers at Nursing Home Law Center at (800) 926-7565 for immediate legal intervention. We represent Russell County victims of abuse and neglect in all areas, including Phenix City.
It is always free to discuss your case with our legal team. We provide a 100% “No Win/No-Fee” Guarantee, meaning you will owe us nothing until we can secure a financial recovery on your behalf. All information you share with our law offices will remain confidential.
Sources:
Attorney Brian Murphy
Licensed in Alabama
Chicago Nursing Home Injury Lawyer Nursing Home Law Center LLC Home