Many cases involving neglect and abuse in nursing facilities and assisted-living homes are the result of understaffing, lack of trained professionals, or minimal supervision. Other times, the patient is sexually assaulted by other residents in the facility or suffers a broken bone or head injury because they fell or suffered a life-threatening bedsore due to neglect. Without proper, necessary supervision, the patient can easily elope (wander away) from the nursing home resulting in a preventable injury or death.
Was your loved one mistreated while living in a DeKalb County nursing facility? If so, contact the Illinois Nursing Home Law Center attorneys for immediate legal intervention. Our team of Chicago nursing home lawyers has successfully resolved cases just like yours. Contact us now so we can begin working on your case today to ensure your family receives adequate compensation to recover your monetary damages.
This facility is a "for profit" center providing services to residents of Shabbona and DeKalb County, Illinois. The Medicare/Medicaid-participating 91-certified bed long-term care (LTC) home is located at:
409 West Comanche Road
Shabbona, Illinois, 60550
(815) 824-2194
Both the state of Illinois and federal agencies penalize nursing homes by denying Medicare reimbursement payments or imposing monetary fines anytime the facility is cited for a severe violation of established regulations and rules that harm or could harm residents.
Within the last three years, Prairie Crossing Living and Rehabilitation Center received six formally filed complaints and self-reported two serious issues that all resulted in citations involving substandard care. Additional information about penalties and fines can be reviewed on the Illinois Department of Public Health Nursing Home Reporting Website concerning this nursing facility.
Families routinely research the Illinois Department of Public Health and Medicare.gov database systems to be fully informed on the level of care nursing homes provide. These websites a comprehensive list of dangerous hazards, opened investigations, health violations, safety concerns, filed complaints, and incident inquiries. This information provides valuable content to make a well-informed decision of where to place a loved one who requires the highest level of hygiene and health care assistance.
According to Medicare, this facility maintains an overall rating of one out of five stars, including two out of five stars concerning health inspections, two out of five stars for staffing issues and one out of five stars for quality measures. The DeKalb County neglect attorneys at Nursing Home Law Center have found serious deficiencies and safety concerns at Prairie Crossing Living and Rehabilitation Center that include:
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated October 12, 2018, the state surveyors documented that the facility had failed to “identify a pressure injury [before] a Stage II or deep tissue injury and provide preventative measures for residents at risk for pressure ulcers.” This deficient practice by the nursing staff affected two of eight residents “reviewed for pressure injury.”
The state survey team observed a Registered Nurse (RN) at 2:01 PM on October 11, 2018, while in a resident’s room “at the bedside to provide care to the resident’s pressure injuries.” The resident’s “air boots were removed and noted to leave indentions into the lower part of her legs.”
The resident “had a small purple area to the right plantar area of the foot and the heel.” The RN “cleaned both areas on [the patient’s] right foot and applied skin prep.” The resident’s “left foot had a very purple/black dark area to the heel and purple/lack areas to the plantar surface of the left foot.”
While providing cares, the RN “put on new gloves, cleaned the wounds with wound cleanser and then applied skin prep.” This injury was facility-acquired as noted in the Nurse’s Admission Record dated July 17, 2018. The documentation revealed that the patient “had wounds to her ischium/buttocks present upon admission to the facility, but not to her heels.”
In a separate summary statement of deficiencies dated September 22, 2017, the survey team noted that the nursing home had failed to “identify, report and assess skin changes. The facility failed to ensure interventions were followed to prevent and treat existing wounds.”
The investigation involved a cognitively intact resident who “has functional impairment of both upper and lower extremities.” The resident’s MDS (Minimum Data Set) Assessment revealed the resident “requires extensive staff assist with transfers, hygiene and toileting [and is] frequently incontinent of urine and has Moisture Associated Skin Damage (MASD).
The survey team observed two Certified Nursing Aides “performing peri-care on [the resident who] had an undated dressing on her left side.” One CNA “stated she had no idea how long it had been there.” Both CNAs had rolled the resident “to her opposite side, and a bright red, open area of the size of a grapefruit was on her right thigh.” The CNAs “made no mention of the right-side skin changes.”
Approximately fifteen minutes later, a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) “said she was assigned to [the resident] and does weekly skin assessments on all residents she is assigned.” The LPN said that “the Wound Care Nurse does weekly rounds and review skin changes as well [and stated that] any skin changes are documented on the resident’s Treatment Administration Records.”
The survey team reviewed the resident’s Treatment Administration Record that “showed a treatment order in place for her left thigh, but no orders for her right thigh” with the grapefruit-size opened area.”
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated October 12, 2018, the state investigators documented that the facility had failed to “ensure fall interventions were in place for two residents at risk for falls.” One incident involved observation of a resident just before lunchtime on October 9, 2018 “sitting in a wheelchair that was next to her bed. The head of her bed was behind her.” The resident’s “call light was on the pillow on her bed; the call light was not visible or within reach of the resident.”
The following afternoon at 2:10 PM, the resident was “in her room, asleep in the recliner with the footrest up.” The resident’s “call light was on her bed and not within the resident’s reach.”
The investigators reviewed the resident’s Nurse’s Notes dated September 19, 2018, at 3:22 PM showing that the resident was “observed lying on her right side in front of the dresser/closet.” The resident stated that “she was trying to get to the bathroom.” At 6:03 PM, the resident “was continuously calling out for help at this time. When you enter the room, she is quiet and states she does not need anything.”
The resident’s Nurse’s Notes dated October 9, 2018, at 4:12 AM documented that the nursing staff had “called the son and left a detailed message about his mother observed on the floor the bathroom.” The document says that the resident is “at risk for falls – Care Plan showed she is unaware of her safety needs and on September 19, 2018, she was found in the floor.” The updated Care Plan for September 19, 2018, revealed: “clip the call light to her chest area.”
The survey team interviewed the facility Director of Nursing who said that the resident “had a fall on September 19, 2018, and she should have had a call light clipped to her chest.” The Director said that the resident “does know how to use the call light and would use it.” The Fall Risk Assessment for the resident dated September 11, 2018, revealed that the resident is “a high risk for falls.”
The state investigative team reviewed the facility’s policy titled: Fall Management dated May 15, 2018, that reads in part:
“Each fall will be reviewed by the interdisciplinary team during the daily interdisciplinary team meeting or sooner. Care Plan interventions to further reduce falls will be discussed and implemented.”
A separate incident was noted on October 9, 2018, involving a different resident who “was found on the floor in his room, lying on his right side and holding onto the bed. The note stated fall interventions were in place including a call light within reach, the bed in the low position, and a fall mat placed next to the bed.” This resident’s October 21, 2018 Fall Risk Assessment “shows a high risk for falls.”
On October 10, 2018, two Certified Nursing Aides were transferring the resident “into bed and performed peri-care. After completing the care, [one CNA] exited the room.” The other CNA lowered the resident’s “bed and placed the call light within reach. At 10:52 AM, [the second CNA] exited the room and did not place the fall mat next to the resident’s bed. The surveyor located the mat folded up in the resident’s closet.”
Approximately 3.5 hours later, the second CNA said, “Oh yes, he should have the [floor mat]. I just forgot to put it down. He has rolled out of bed in the past.” The resident was observed the following afternoon “lying in a low bed. The floor mat was not next to the bed and was again found folded up in the closet.” The survey team reviewed the facility’s Fall Management Policy that reads in part:
“Fall management/safety supervision is an interdisciplinary process designed to develop systems to provide individualized person-centered care. The policy states under the procedure section: Interventions will be implemented for residents determined to be at high risk.”
In a second summary statement of deficiencies dated March 29, 2018, the state survey team documented that the facility had “failed to ensure resident safety during personal care.” The deficient practice by the nursing staff affected one of three residents “reviewed for safety.”
The investigation involved a resident with no cognitive impairment but one that “requires extensive staff assist with bed mobility, transfers, dressing, toilet use, and personal hygiene.” The resident’s MDS (Minimum Data Set) Assessment revealed that the resident “is always incontinent of urine and bowel.”
The state surveyors observed the resident “seated in a wheelchair at the breakfast table [with] a purple, quarter-sized bruise on her left forehead. The lower edge was fading to yellow. The surveyor question [the resident] regarding the forehead bruise.” The resident “was slow to answer, but not able to voice knowledge as to the cause of the bruise.”
The resident told the surveyor “she hit her head on the nightstand while turning in bed.” The resident said that “it happened on the day she was sent to the hospital.” At that time, she pointed to “an Aide seated in the dining room and said she was helping me with another girl.” The resident “was asked if her legs were bumped or if she had any other bruises and stated she did not know.”
The survey team interviewed a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) who said that she had assisted another nurse “with incontinent care” for the resident who “did hit her head on the nightstand and it was reported to the Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) as soonest care was completed.” The surveyors enter the resident’s room “and observed her nightstand still sitting directly next to her bed on the left side.”
Do you suspect that your loved one has suffered harm through abuse, neglect or mistreatment while living at Prairie Crossing Living and Rehabilitation Center? If so, call the Illinois nursing home abuse and neglect lawyers at Nursing Home Law Center at (800) 926-7565 today. Our network of attorneys fights aggressively on behalf of DeKalb County victims of mistreatment living in long-term facilities including nursing homes in Shabbona. Contact us now to schedule a free case review to discuss how to obtain justice and resolve a financial compensation claim.
Our skillful attorneys provide legal representation in victim cases involving nursing home abuse when it occurs in private and public nursing facilities. We accept every case involving nursing home abuse, wrongful death or personal injury through a contingency fee agreement. This arrangement postpones your payment for our legal services until after we have successfully resolved your case through a jury trial award or a negotiated settlement.
Our network of attorneys offers every client a “No Win/No-Fee” Guarantee, meaning if we are unable to resolve your case successfully, you owe us nothing. 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 Jonathan Rosenfeld
Licensed in Illinois
Chicago Nursing Home Injury Attorney Nursing Home Law Center LLC Home