Many families have no other option than to place a loved one in a nursing facility to ensure they receive the highest level of hygiene assistance and health management. Unfortunately, many patients become the victims of abuse, neglect or mistreatment at the hands of caregivers, other residents, employees, and visitors.
If your loved one was harmed by others while residing in a Hardeman County nursing facility, contact the Tennessee Nursing Home Law Center attorneys for immediate legal intervention. Our team of lawyers has extensive experience in resolving legal matters quickly including removing the patient from the neglectful nursing staff into a safer and more compassionate facility. We can begin working on your claim for compensation now to ensure your family receives adequate monetary recovery for your losses. Time is of the essence; all paperwork must be filed before the state statute of limitations expires concerning your claim.
This Medicare/Medicaid-participating long-term care (LTC) center is a 134-certified bed "for-profit" home providing services to residents of Bolivar and Hardeman County, Tennessee. The facility is located at:
700 Nuckolls Road
Bolivar, Tennessee, 38008
(731) 658-4707
In addition to providing 24-hour skilled nursing care, Pine Meadows Health Care and Rehabilitation Center also offer:
The investigators working for the state and federal governments are legally authorized to impose monetary fines or deny payment for Medicare services if a nursing facility has been cited for serious violations of rules and regulations.
Within the last three years, state and federal regulators have not fined Pine Meadows Health Care and Rehabilitation Center. Additional information concerning penalties and fines can be found on the Tennessee Department of Health Nursing Home Reporting Website concerning this nursing facility.
To ensure families are fully informed of the level of care every nursing home provides, the state of Tennessee routinely updates their long-term care home database system. This information reflects a complete list of dangerous hazards, safety concerns, health violations, incident inquiries, opened investigations, and filed complaints that can be found on numerous sites including Medicare.gov and the TN Department of Public Health website.
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 two out of five stars for quality measures. The Hardeman County neglect attorneys at Nursing Home Law Center have found serious deficiencies and safety concerns at Pine Meadows Health Care and Rehabilitation Center that include:
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated May 18, 2017, the state investigator documented the facility’s failure to" ensure one sampled resident was free from restraint.” The investigators documented that “this failure placed [the resident] at risk for physical decline and potential harm.” The survey team reviewed the facility policy titled: Restraints that reads in part:
“An evaluation will be completed to determine the medical symptom requiring the device and to determine the least restricted device to treat the symptom.” “Restraints with locking devices shall not be used.”
The investigator then reviewed the resident’s medical records and Pre-Restraining Evaluation dated July 17, 2014, that revealed “a lap tray to [the resident’s] wheelchair was recommended. The Informed Consent for Use of Restraints [for that resident] dated July 17, 2017, documented that a portion of the form was left blank that would have been noted by the resident.”
The document stated “I have been informed that an evaluation has been done by the appropriate healthcare professionals to determine the appropriateness of use of restraints and participation in the restraint reduction program.” The surveyor said that “the consent was signed by the resident’s responsible party.”
A review of the resident’s Physical Restraint Elimination Review dated between March 9, 2017, and March 27, 2017, reveal that on the last day, “the staff put a self-releasing alarm lap buddy on the [resident’s] wheelchair. The next review dated April 8, 2014, showed that “the lap buddy was discontinued.”
On July 22, 2014, the self-releasing lap belt was discontinued, and a lap tray was ordered. The most recent Physical Restraint Elimination Review, dated March 9, 2017,” indicated that the resident “was not diagnosed as being restraint at this time. The lap tray serves as an enabler.”
The surveyors reviewed the resident’s Brief Interview for Mental Status (BIMS) that indicated that the resident “had severe cognitive impairment, needed extensive assistance for all activities of daily living and restraint was not use for [that resident].”
The resident’s Care Plan dated July 18, 2014, that was revised on April 27, 2017, documented the “potential for complications related to the use of a lap tray [that include]:
The surveyors observed the resident during an initial tour of the facility while on the C Hall. At that time, the resident “was observed in a wheelchair with a plastic tray attached to both armrests and positioned across her lap. The tray was tilted upward slightly and was belted behind the resident’s chair with a clasp.” Observations of the resident restraint in the wheelchair were made at numerous times on May 16, 2017, and May 17, 2017.
On May 17, 2017, the surveyors observed the Director of Nursing asking the resident “repeatedly to remove the lap tray. The Director placed the resident’s hands on the tray and asked her to push it off.” The resident “was unable to comply with the request.” The Director stated, “at this time, the resident’s current level of dementia and decreased strength would not allow her to remove the belted lap tray.”
The investigative team interviewed the Director of Nursing and asked: “what medical symptom required the lap tray?” The Director replied, “I guess the medical symptom would be Alzheimer’s” but agreed that “the documentation regarding the lap tray for [the resident] did not reflect this.”
The Director of Nursing also said that “the Restraint Consent Form should be filled out completely.” The Director then read the facility’s policy and restraints and stated that “the term locking device less some questions. I am unsure if the belted class was technically a locked.” The resident “was unable to remove the lap tray, and that was a contradiction to their policy.”
The Director also said that they “did not think a restraint should be coded on the resident’s MDS (Minimum Data Set) because they were using the lap tray as an enabler.” The surveyors asked, “what the belted lap tray enabled the resident to do?” The Director replied, “Sit upright.”
The survey team asked the Director “if the resident did in fact sit upright with the lap tray.” The Director replied, “she does not, but it keeps her from leaning all the way forward” but confirmed, “they had not attempted to use a lap tray without the belt or to utilize a Geri-chair.”
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated May 18, 2017, the state survey team documented the facility’s failure to “notify the physician of significant changes in the resident status.” The deficient practice by the nursing staff involved one of twenty residents sampled out of the thirty-two residents residing in the facility.
A review of the resident’s Admission MDS (Minimum Data Set) shows that the resident was “cognitively intact, [but] required extensive assistance with activities of daily living and had no functional limitations in [their] range of motion.” The investigators reviewed the confidential quality assurance document over concerns of an allegation of neglect involving a resident. The staff member documented that around 5:45 AM to 6:00 AM, “she made her round of the resident and noted that he was not speaking as he had been earlier and was staring. She immediately got the night nurse to check him.”
The Quality Assurance staff member stated that both she and the night nurse “went into the room and the resident was cold to [the] touch. His blood pressure was 90/50, and he started responding by nodding his head when they asked him questions.” A written report by the Registered Nurse providing care stated that they had checked the resident’s vitals and “noticed his skin was cool.”
The investigators interviewed the facility Director of Nursing and asked: “if the physician was notified when the resident became unresponsive in the night.” The Director replied, “Not to my knowledge. There wasn’t any documentation of that incident.” The Director confirmed that there “should have been documentation describing the earlier incident with the resident.” The investigators asked the Director “if the family was notified?” The Director replied, “not to my knowledge” and confirmed that she would expect “her staff to notify the physician when there is a change in status.”
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated May 18, 2017, the state survey team noted the nursing home's failure to “maintain an environment that was clean and sanitary.” The deficient practice by the nursing staff involved one of thirty-two sampled residents in the Stage II review. An additional deficiency at the facility also occurred when one Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) “failed to follow infection control measures to prevent the potential spread of infection by cross-contamination during medication pass.”
The investigators reviewed the facility’s policy titled: Decontaminating and Labeling Equipment that reads in part: “Organic matter must be removed (visible dirt, blood, body fluids, etc.).”
The surveyors observed a resident’s room on multiple occasions between May 15, 2017, and May 17, 2017, when the resident “was sitting in a Geri-chair with the right arm of the chair torn with foam exposed.” The chair had a “brown substance under the right armrest.” The investigators interviewed the facility Director of Nursing who stated that the substance “looked like dried food, he is a messy eater.” The Director confirmed that the condition of the chair was unacceptable and that the “chair needs [to be] repaired.”
Surveyors also observed a Licensed Practical Nurse during a medication pass on May 16, 2017. During the medication pass, the Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) “washed her hands, turned the faucet back on, filled the glass with water, [and] raised [the resident’s] bed.” The LPN then stated, “I am so flustered. I have already washed my hands, I have touched everything.”
The LPN then “exited the room and obtained a stethoscope from the medication cart, applied gloves, stopped [the resident’s] feeding, adjusted the resident’s gown, checked the placement of the Percutaneous Endoscopic Gastrostomy (PEG) tube, then administered medications through the PEG.”
The investigators interviewed the Director of Nursing who confirmed that “she expected a nurse to [wash her hands and put on gloves] before administering medications through a PEG tube if she had touched items in the room.” The Director stated that the LPN “should have washed her hands” after touching equipment and items in the room and administering medications without performing hand hygiene.”
If your loved one was the victim of abuse, mistreatment or neglect while residing at Pine Meadows Health Care and Rehabilitation Center, contact the Tennessee nursing home abuse lawyers at Nursing Home Law Center at (800) 926-7565 now. Our network of attorneys fights aggressively on behalf of Hardeman County victims of mistreatment living in long-term facilities including nursing homes in Bolivar.
Our abuse and mistreatment injury attorneys represent victims injured by neglect of the nursing staff. Our network of attorneys working on your behalf can ensure your family receives adequate financial recompense for the injuries, harm, losses, and damages your loved one has endured by others. Contact us now to schedule a free case review to discuss how to obtain justice and resolve a financial compensation claim. We can begin working on your case today 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 postpones the need to pay for legal services until after we have resolved your case through a negotiated out of court settlement or jury trial award. We can provide legal representation starting today to ensure your family is adequately compensated for your damages. All information you share with our law offices will remain confidential.
Attorney Cameron Jehl
Licensed in Tennessee
Tennessee Nursing Home Injury Attorney Nursing Home Law Center LLC Home