Any mistreatment of the senior citizen in a nursing facility can constitute neglect or abuse if it occurs at the hands of caregivers, employees, family members, friends, or other patients. Every member of the nursing team and employee staff always has a legal responsibility to protect their residents and keep them safe in their environment.
If your loved one was injured while residing in an Orange County nursing facility, contact the North Carolina Nursing Home Law Center Attorneys now for immediate legal assistance. Let our team of abuse prevention lawyers work on your family’s behalf to ensure you receive financial compensation for your damages. Time is of the essence. All necessary documentation must be filed in the proper county courthouse before the statute of limitations expires.
This long-term care home is a 108-certified bed center providing care and services to residents of Chapel Hill and Orange County, North Carolina. The "for-profit" Medicare and Medicaid-participating facility is located at:
1602 E Franklin Street
Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27514
(919) 967-1418
Signature Healthcare of Chapel Hill
In addition to providing 24/7 skilled nursing care, Signature Healthcare of Chapel Hill offers other services. Additional focused attention includes short-term and long term care. The facility also offers comprehensive rehab services, wound care, and physical, occupational, and speech therapies.
The investigators for the federal government and state of North Carolina nursing home regulatory agencies have the legal authority to impose monetary fines or deny payment for Medicare services if the nursing facility is cited for serious violations of rules and regulations.
Within the last three years, investigators imposed two monetary penalties against Signature Healthcare Of Chapel Hill, citing substandard care. These penalties include a $18,655 fine on June 01, 2018, and a $127,340 fine on April 26, 2017, for a total of $145,995. During this time, Medicare denied payment on April 26, 2017, due to a lack of quality care.
The nursing home received twenty-two complaints over the last three years that resulted in a violation citation. Additional information concerning the facility can be reviewed on the comprehensive North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services Adult Protective Services Website.
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Our attorneys review data on every long-term and intermediate care facility on Medicare.com and the North Carolina 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, one 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 initiate any care to a resident that was gasping for air, after eating an ice cream cone, before Emergency Medical Services (EMS) arrived.” The state investigators determined an Immediate Jeopardy began when the resident “was out of the facility, on an activity outing to a local ice cream shop and began gasping for air after eating an ice cream cone.”
The “nursing staff left the resident unattended and did not initiate Emergency Medical Services (EMS) immediately.” The Emergency Medical Services arrived, and the resident was hospitalized.
A Nursing Note entry indicated that the resident “had an episode of choking while taking her medications, which were crushed in vanilla pudding. A Code blue was called and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) was initiated. She was able to start breathing normally again.” The doctor ordered an x-ray, which “came back negative for aspiration [food or liquid inhaled into the lungs].”
A subsequent Nursing Note revealed that the resident “was on an outing today with activities. No nurse was made aware that the resident was going.”
Documentation shows that the fire rescue arrived at the scene before the ambulance got there and “obtained a history of events from bystanders.” The resident had “just gotten ice cream, with the group from her care facility, when bystanders stated she became apneic (temporary suspension of breathing) and unresponsive.”
The bystanders knew little about the resident, who was sitting in a wheelchair. While the resident responded to painful stimuli, she was nonverbal and “her breathing was shallow and abnormally slow, with a respiration rate of eight [breaths] per minute.” One person at the ice cream store stated that the resident “looked very bad.”
Was your loved one mistreated while residing at Signature Healthcare Of Chapel Hill? Contact the North Carolina nursing home abuse prevention lawyers at Nursing Home Law Center at (800) 926-7565 for immediate legal intervention. We represent Orange County victims of abuse and neglect in all areas, including Chapel Hill.
You will not be charged to discuss your case with our legal team during an initial, free case review. Also, we provide a 100% “No Win/No-Fee” Guarantee. This promise means that you will owe us nothing until we have secured financial compensation on your behalf. All information you share with our law offices will remain confidential.
Attorney Carl R. Wilander, Esq.
Licensed in North Carolina
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