Information & Ratings on Royal Oak Nursing and Rehab, LLC (Violations)

Nursing homes that are careless, or who simply do not live up to the duty of care that they owe their residents, put the life and safety of your loved one at risk. In the event that their errors or omissions actually cause harm to your family member, the nursing home may be held liable for the injuries. This could result in you and tour family being eligible for financial compensation. If you elect to file a legal claim against a nursing home, it is best to do so with the help of an experienced and skilled attorney. The lawyer will help you navigate the entire process.

Royal Oak Nursing and Rehab, LLC is a large-sized facility with 168 certified beds. It participates in both the Medicare and Medicaid programs. It provides long-stay and rehabilitative services to residents of the Greater Saint Louis area. The nursing home has for-profit ownership and is located at:

4960 Laclede Ave 
St. Louis, MO 63108
(314) 361-6240

Both the State of Missouri and the federal government have a regulatory interest in nursing homes that operate in the state. Missouri must ensure that the nursing homes that it licenses follow its state laws and regulations. If not, it has the power to undertake remedial measures, which could include fining the facility. The federal government must make sure that nursing homes that participate in its programs also follow regulations so that they may continue to receive reimbursements from Medicare and Medicaid. 

The facility received a Class I Notice of Noncompliance from the State of Missouri. This is the most serious type of violation that a nursing home can receive from the state. The particular incident that led to this violation was that a resident eloped from the facility. Staff knew that this particular resident was a risk to leave the home, but the resident was placed in an unsecured unit. The resident has expressed a desire to leave the day after they were admitted and had taken steps consistent with that intent. In other words, staff should have been clearly on notice of what this resident intended. The resident did leave the facility and was located in the middle of traffic on a busy street nearly an entire mile away from the facility. When inspectors visited the floor from which the resident escaped, the alarm on the door was not working and there was no staff present. The federal report related to this incident assigned it the highest class of violation as well in that a resident was placed in immediate jeopardy. The nursing home was fined over $75,000 for this infraction, which is an amount more than twice the average fine for a nursing home in this country.

Notwithstanding the fact that the facility received a large fine, care at the facility has not improved since then. The most recent inspection report issued in July 2018 resulted in 23 separate health citations issued to the facility. This is about triple the national average. In addition, there have been 15 complaints filed in the past three years that have resulted in a citation against the nursing home. 

The citations in the July 2018 inspection report touched upon nearly all areas of care at the facility. There was one incident in which a resident alleged that $100 was stolen from their wallet and told this to the CNA. However, the CNA claimed that this particular resident made the allegation many times and did not pass the report along to the Director of Nursing. All allegations of misappropriation of property must be reported to the Administrator and investigated. and then reported to the state. 

The inspection report also noted a significant medication error with regard to one resident. While a facility can have a medication error rate of up to five percent, it cannot have any significant medication errors. Here, the facility administered insulin through a pen without priming before administering the insulin. In addition, the staff member did not document the administration of the insulin and did not remain in the room to offer the resident any food or drink after the injection. 

In addition to the one-star rating that it received in the area of health inspections, this facility also received a one-star rating in the area of staffing. Each nursing home is required to report its staffing numbers to Medicare. Here, Royal Oak's staffing numbers are well short of the national averages. The facility has only 37 minutes of nurse time for each resident per day. This is less than even half of the national average. RN's are practically nonexistent based on the numbers that were reported. Lack of adequate staff often leads to inadequate and error-riddled care for residents since staff are often pressed and overworked. 

If you believe that your family may have a legal claim against the nursing home where your loved one has resided, you should immediately contact the attorneys at the Nursing Home Law Center at (800) 726-9565. If you are worried that a lawyer for your case will be costly, your mind should be put at ease by the fact that we are retained on a contingency basis. If we cannot help your and your family receive any sort of financial settlement or jury award, we are not paid for our services. Call us today to see how we can help your loved one and your family. 

Sources:

• May 11, 2017
• Inspection Report - 04/26/2017