Relocating a loved one into a nursing home can be a challenging and painful experience. In many incidents, the family has no other option than to entrust the care of a loved one to medical professionals in a facility knowing that they will be treated with compassion, respect, and dignity. Unfortunately, many nursing home patients are victimized through negligent caregivers or assaulted at the hands of other residents. Often, the victim feels abandoned or subjected to physical abuse, sexual assault or serious injury from defective equipment.
The Tennessee Nursing Home Law Center attorneys have represented many Shelby County nursing home residents who were harm through mistreatment, and we can help your family too. Contact us now to begin the process of obtaining financial compensation for your damages and hold those accountable for your harm legally responsible. Time is of the essence. All paperwork must be prepared and submitted to the appropriate county courthouse before the Tennessee statute of limitations expires.
This nursing home is a "for profit" center providing cares and services to residents of Memphis and Shelby County, Tennessee. The Medicare/Medicaid-participating 115-certified bed nursing facility is located at:
8119 Memphis-Arlington Road
Memphis, Tennessee, 38133
(901) 937-6302
In addition to providing 24-hour skilled nursing care, Rainbow Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center also offer:
Tennessee nursing home regulators and federal inspectors have the legal authority to penalize any nursing home identified as violating rules and regulations that harmed or could have harmed a resident. Typically, these penalties include monetary fines and denial for payment of medical services.
Within the last three years, investigators levied a massive monetary fine against Rainbow Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center on September 14, 2016, for $602,723. On the same date, Medicare denied payment for services rendered.
Over the last thirty-six months, the facility received eight formally filed complaints and self-reported one serious problem that resulted in a citation. Additional information about penalties and fines can be located on the Tennessee Department of Health Nursing Home Reporting Website concerning this nursing facility.
Detailed information on each long-term care facility in the state can be obtained on government-run websites including Medicare.gov and the Tennessee Department of Public Health website. These regulatory agencies routinely update their list of incident inquiries, dangerous hazards, filed complaints, health violations, safety concerns, and opened investigations on nursing homes statewide.
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 Shelby County neglect attorneys at Nursing Home Law Center have found serious deficiencies and safety concerns at Rainbow Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center that include:
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated September 14, 2016, the state survey team noted the nursing home’s failure to "ensure a complete and thorough investigation was conducted for a verbal abuse allegation.” The Nursing Home also “failed to ensure the abuse allegation was reported to the State Agency.” The investigators reviewed the facility’s policy titled: Abuse Prevention Program that reads in part:
“All reports of abuse shall be promptly and thoroughly investigated by facility management. Witness reports will be obtained in writing. Witnesses will be required to sign and date such reports. Employees of the facility who have been accused of resident abuse will be suspended from duty until the results of the investigation have been reviewed by the Administrator.”
“The results of the investigation will be recorded on approved documentation forms. The investigator will give a copy of the completed documentation to the Administrator within five working days of the reported incident. The Administrator will provide a written report of the results of all alleged abuse investigations and appropriate action taken to the State Survey and Certification Agency within five working days of the reported incident.”
The investigators reviewed a resident’s closed medical record. The document showed that the resident was moderately cognitively impaired and had “verbal, behavioral symptoms directed toward others for one to three days, and totally dependent on staff for all activities of daily living.”
The resident’s Care Plan dated July 10, 2016, documented: “Alteration and comfort. Interventions: Observe for signs and symptoms of pain and discomfort [with] facial grimacing.” The nursing staff was directed to “gently redirect activities when the resident makes inappropriate actions. Tell resident behavior is inappropriate.”
A review of the facility’s Nurse’s Notes dated August 19, 2016 documents that the resident’s son came to the desk and “stated that the housekeeping girl hollered at the resident telling her she would give her something the holler about.” The son said, “I notified the Social Worker.” The investigators reviewed the Grievance Log and the facility’s abuse allegation investigations during the timeframe and there “was no documentation of an allegation of abuse made by [the resident’s] son.”
The investigators interviewed a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) providing the resident care and “asked what happened the day [the resident’s] son reported the allegation of verbal abuse.” The LPN stated, “her son was here. He came and started telling us that his mother said the housekeeper came in there and told her if she [was] not quiet, she would give her something to yell about. She was right there in front of the nursing station. I cannot say she did not, but [the resident] said she did not.”
The investigators asked the LPN “what the son said after the resident made the statement that no one yelled at her.” The LPN replied, “the son left. He left a couple of minutes after that. He said he had to go back to work. He was not there when she denied the allegation.” The investigators asked the LPN “which Social Worker she told.” The investigators also wanted to know “if the facility conducted an investigation.”
The LPN replied, “I am not really sure” stating that she had written a statement in the Nurse’s Notes but did not “know if they did anything else about it.” The LPN said that she could not remember if she told the Director of Nursing, Administrator or supervisor and was unsure what housekeeper was involved.
The investigators interviewed the Social Services Director (SSD) and asked for the Director to “provide the investigation [report] for the alleged verbal abuse made by [the resident’s] son.” The Social Services Director replied that “it was not reported to us. It does not ring a bell.” The SSD confirmed that there was “no investigation conducted.”
The surveyors interviewed the facility Director of Nursing and asked: “what could happen if someone reported an allegation of abuse?” The Director replied that a full investigation should occur and that the “person they are reporting against will be removed and suspended pending the investigation.” The Director said that they were unaware of the allegations made by [the resident’s] son” and also confirmed that there should “have been an investigation of the abuse allegation made by [the resident’s] son.
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated September 14, 2016, the state investigators documented that the facility had failed to “provide care and services for residents with pressure ulcers [that] resulted in deterioration of the wound and resulted in Immediate Jeopardy” to two residents at the facility. The investigators identify an Immediate Jeopardy as “a situation in which the provider’s noncompliance has caused or is likely to cause, serious injury, harm, impairment, or death to the resident.”
The incident that led to the Immediate Jeopardy involved a resident who was “severely impaired for daily cognitive skills and had a Stage IV pressure ulcer on admission” measuring 2.4 centimeters long, 0.6 cm wide and 0.1 cm deep. The resident’s care plan dated April 15, 2016, and revised on July 20, 2016 shows interventions including “weekly treatment documentation to include a measurement of each area of skin breakdown with, length, depth, type of tissue and exudate.”
While the nursing staff measured the sacral wound on numerous dates, “there were no weekly wound assessments provided for the Stage IV sacral wound from March 25, 2016, until April 15, 2016.” Further review showed that “there was no weekly wound assessments provided for the Stage IV sacral wound from August 22, 2016, until May 22, 2016.”
The investigators also noted that there was “no documentation that wound care was administered as ordered for the month of April” and “there was no documentation that wound care was administered as ordered for the month of May,” June or from July 7, 2016 until August 5, 2016. The investigators reviewed the resident’s Treatment Adminstration Record that show there “was no documentation for treatments had been performed as ordered.”
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated September 14, 2016, the state survey team noted that the nursing home had failed to “implement accident prevention interventions for one of two residents reviewed for accidents.” The investigators reviewed the resident’s medical records and fall risk assessment completed on June 29, 2016, and July 9, 2016, that revealed that the “resident had a high risk of falls.” The resident’s Admission MDS (Minimum Data Set) Assessment revealed the resident “had no cognitive impairments.”
The investigators reviewed the facility Nurse’s Notes dated August 23, 2016, that revealed an IV pole had fallen and the resident told the nurse that he pushed his IV pole to the bathroom and that the pole fell but he did not get hurt. However, the Nurse’s Notes dated the following day revealed that the resident complained of the knee, left hip and left shoulder pain from the fall and had bruising noted. A follow-up assessment of the fall the next day showed that the resident’s range of motion was within normal limits, but the resident still complained of “being sore from the fall.”
The resident’s Care Plan initiated on June 30, 2016 documents that the resident “was at risk for fall-related injuries.” The fall document on July 9, 2016, showed “Laceration on forehead. Interventions: wheelchair alarm. Hourly rounds for the fall on August 3, 2016. The Care Plan had not been updated with new interventions to prevent further accidents following [the resident’s] fall on August 23, 2016.
The investigative team interviewed the MDS Director and asked if the resident’s “Care plan had been updated with new interventions following the fall on March 20, 2016.” The Director replied, “No” and confirmed that the resident’s “current Care Plan calls for a wheelchair alarm to be put in place.”
During an interview with the Assistant Director of Nursing, it was revealed that after the Assistant went to the resident’s room, looked at the resident and came back to the nurse’s station the resident did not “have a chair alarm on his wheelchair” as ordered.
Do you have any suspicions that your loved one as a resident in Rainbow Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center was abused, neglected or mistreated. If so, take steps now by contacting the Tennessee nursing home abuse lawyers at Nursing Home Law Center at (800) 926-7565. Our network of attorneys fights aggressively on behalf of Shelby County victims of mistreatment living in long-term facilities including nursing homes in Memphis.
Let our skilled attorneys file and handle your nursing home abuse compensation claim against all those who caused your loved one harm. Our years of experience ensure a successful resolution. 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 today on your claim for compensation to ensure your rights are protected.
We accept every case concerning wrongful death, nursing home abuse, and personal injury through a contingency fee agreement. This arrangement postpones making upfront payments for our legal services until after we have successfully resolved your compensation claim through a negotiated settlement or jury trial award. We can begin representing you in your case today to ensure you receive adequate compensation for your damages. All information you share with our law offices will remain confidential.
Attorney Cameron Jehl
Licensed in Tennessee
Tennessee Nursing Home Injury Lawyer Nursing Home Law Center LLC Home