When a family makes the ultimate decision to relocate their loved one in a nursing home, it is usually based on ensuring that they can maximize their loved one’s quality of life in a safe, secure environment. Unfortunately, abuse and neglect are common occurrences that happen every day in Cook County nursing homes.
If your loved one suffered physical, mental, emotional or sexual abuse or was neglected at the hands of their caregivers or other patients, it is crucial to speak with our legal team today. The Illinois Nursing Home Law Center attorneys have represented families just like yours.
If your loved one has been mistreated at Southpoint Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, contact our Chicago nursing home abuse lawyers, Let us begin working on your case today to ensure your family receives monetary recompense for your damages.
This long-term care (LTC) facility is a 228-certified bed "for profit" home providing services and cares to residents of Chicago and Cook County, Illinois. The Medicare/Medicaid-participating center is located at:
1010 West 95Th Street
Chicago, Illinois, 60643
(773) 298-1177
In addition to providing 24/7 skilled nursing care, Southpoint Nursing & Rehabilitation Center offers other services that include:
Illinois 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, Southpoint Nursing and Rehabilitation Center received forty formally filed complaints and self-reported two serious issues that all resulted in citations. Additional information about penalties and fines can be reviewed on the Illinois Department of Public 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 Illinois Department of Public Health site. These regulatory agencies routinely update their list of opened investigations, filed complaints, dangerous hazards, health violations, safety concerns, and incident inquiries on nursing homes statewide.
According to Medicare, this facility maintains an overall rating of one out of five stars, including two 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 Cook County neglect attorneys at Nursing Home Law Center have found serious deficiencies and safety concerns at Southpoint Nursing and Rehabilitation Center that include:
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated August 18, 2017, the state investigative team noted that the nursing home had failed to “follow facility abuse reporting procedures for verbal abuse involving one of four residents reviewed for abuse.”
The survey team reviewed a resident’s Progress Notes in the late entry entered on July 23, 2017, by a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN). The notation shows that the resident “complained of staff using inappropriate language [saying a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA)] said, ‘F--- Y-- to a resident while talking to her about the suffer meal.”
Documentation shows that the “primary nurse asked [the resident] to write a statement describing what the CNA said and the primary nurse also as all CNAs to write a statement about what they observed during this time. The staff member was given a new assignment which will keep [that staff member] and the resident from having contact during the shift. The Nurse Supervisor was made aware.”
While there was a 24-hour report noted in the documentation, there was “no CNA statements or statements from [the resident] attached to the daily report. The supervisors on duty in the Night Shift Surveyor was “not made aware of any report of verbal abuse.”
The Director of Nursing stated during an interview that “I was not informed of any allegation of verbal abuse. Yes, I currently have to acknowledge that there are Progress Notes [for the resident] noting in an accusation of verbal abuse. This [alleged abuse] was never reported to the supervisor. When informed, the Administrator immediately sent out a report to the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH). I spoke with [the LPN] and suspended him until the investigation is completed.”
The facility Administrator said “I was never informed of the allegation of abuse. I sent on an initial report this morning. I realize that this should have been sent before, but the reporting was never made to the IDPH.”
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated June 14, 2018, a state surveyor noted the nursing home's failure to “monitor and maintain refrigerator temperatures and safety monitoring for food products.” The deficient practice by the nursing staff involved two residents “reviewed for refrigerator care and supervision.”
The state surveyors noted that a resident “had a large volume of mixed food items in a room refrigerator that was not labeled or dated.” The refrigerator temperature log recorded temperatures only from May 1, 2018, through May 9, 2018. The log “did not have a year indicated or the temperatures from June 1 and June 5 only. The resident “had an overbed table sitting against the entrance or the room with visible food products that were without labels or dates. There was also a loaf of bread with a ‘used by’ date of June 9, 2018.”
The resident said “I been here for two years and no one has ever come in to check my food or clean my refrigerator. I clean it myself. The refrigerator currently is unsecured on the top of the black plastic milk crate.” It is impossible “to count the large volume of food products that consist of multiple [types of] meat, dairy, and other products (overfilled at this observation).”
The investigators reviewed the facility’s policy titled: Food Brought into the Facility by Friends/Family/Others (On-Site Sources) for Residents revised on November 28, 2016, that reads in part:
“Any food or beverage brought into the facility by friends/family/others for resident consumption will be checked by a staff member before being accepted for storage.
Any suspicions or obviously contaminated items (due to apparent odor or an expiration date that has passed – if the food is packaged by a manufacturer – will be discarded immediately. An explanation will be provided to the party who brought it in.”
In a separate summary statement of deficiencies dated August 18, 2017, the state investigators documented that the nursing facility “failed to follow its policy for hand hygiene and cleaning/disinfecting/maintaining glucose meter [devices] during blood glucose monitoring for [one resident].”
An observation was made of a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) during medication administration who “removed a lancet and a tester from his pocket and performed a finger stick [test] for a glucose test. After using the glucose monitor, [the LPN] removed gloves and cleaned the glucose monitor.” However, the LPN “did not perform hand hygiene and proceeded to prepare [the resident’s] insulin.”
At that time, the LPN “donned clean gloves without performing hand hygiene and administered [the resident’s] insulin injection.” The next day, the LPN stated “handwashing should be done after patient care before and after gloving. Glucose monitor should be cleaned with gloves on.”
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated August 2, 2018, the state investigative team documented that the nursing facility had failed to “ensure preventative safety measures were in place to prevent a fall with injury.” The deficient practice by the nursing staff involved one of four residents “reviewed for falls.”
The nursing staff observed the resident “lying in the low bed in a fetal position” just after noon on July 30, 2018. The resident “did not verbally respond to the greeting.” The resident’s “gown was halfway off [with] the body being exposed, and an excessive amount of dried stool was noted on the resident’s incontinence pad.”
A Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) “entered into the room and stated, ‘I was going to get to [the resident], but I have been busy and running behind.’” The CNA “then proceeded to gather items to assist [the resident] with daily grooming and incontinence care. The surveyor exited the room.”
Less than fifteen minutes later, the surveyor reentered the severely cognitively impaired resident’s “room and observed the resident lying on the floor on the left side of the bed, unattended. The resident noted with active bleeding from the forehead. A floor mat was not down on the left side of the bed, and the mat was observed up against the wall. The bed alarm was on the floor on the right side of the bed. The resident was without a soft helmet on.”
At that time, an LPN “then entered into [the resident’s] room at 1:13 PM.” The LPN “began assisting the resident, and first-aid was initiated.” The resident’s “forehead began to swell.” Twelve minutes later, the CNA “reentered the room” saying “I do not know how [the resident] fell, I went to look for the lunch tray, then the housekeeper told me that the resident was on the floor.”
The survey team reviewed the resident’s Nursing Progress Note dated July 30, 2018, at 1:42 PM that read: “Writer was called to the room by the CNA. The resident was observed lying on her left side on the floor. The resident was noted to have a small laceration on the left side of her forehead above the eye. Per the doctor, sent the resident to the local hospital for evaluation and treatment.”
A review of the resident’s 7:10 PM at July 30, 2018, Nursing Progress Note revealed that the resident “returned the facility by a stretcher [and is] alert and responsive to physical stimuli. Vital signs stable, six steri-strips noted to the left side of the forehead.” The resident’s Fall Risk Review dated June 24, 2018, was reviewed. The note documents that the resident is “a high risk for falls with predisposing disease/conditions: orthopedic, psychiatric/cognitive, and a history of falls.”
The resident’s Fall Risk Care Plan documented that the resident is “at risk for falls related to a history of falls, cognitive impairment, communication impairments, visual acuity impairment, decreased safety awareness, requires assistance with daily living for transfers and mobility, impaired range of motion, incontinence and decreased strength and endurance. Interventions include a low bed, floor mats and recommend a soft helmet to be worn while in bed.”
The facility presented a list of the surveyors dated August 1, 2018, that shows the residents “on the third floor with floor mats and alarms.” This resident “is on this list.”
The investigators interviewed the facility Director of Nursing who said that “I expect the staff to keep the fall mats down after completion of personal care with the resident.” This resident’s “fall mats should not have been against the wall. Safety measures should be in place. The alarm should be in place. They have been in-service yesterday.” The Director said that “in-service reads ‘it is the responsibility of all staff members to ensure all safety devices are in place’ including “floor mats, alarms, helmets, etc.”
The Director of Nursing presented an Incident Report that was faxed to the Illinois Department of Public Health showing that the resident was found on the floor “with a small laceration to the forehead.” A review of the facility’s policy titled: Fall Program revised in May 2012 reads in part:
“To evaluate a resident of the potential risk of falling and plan appropriate measures and interventions to reduce or eliminate those risks. Safety movement devices will be used as an integral tool to prevent unassisted ambulation and to prevent/reduce falls. All alarms and some monitors will be installed according to manufacturer recommendations.”
Do you suspect that your loved one has suffered harm through abuse, neglect or mistreatment while living at Southpoint Nursing and Rehabilitation Center? If so, call the Illinois nursing home abuse and neglect lawyers at Nursing Home Law Center at (800) 926-7565 now for legal assistance. Our network of attorneys fights aggressively on behalf of Cook County victims of mistreatment living in long-term facilities including nursing homes in Chicago. Contact us now to schedule a free case review to discuss how to obtain justice and resolve a financial compensation claim.
Our dedicated attorneys have represented clients with victim cases involving nursing home mistreatment. With our years of success, our attorneys can assist your family in successfully resolving your financial recompense case against all those who caused your loved harm. Our attorneys accept every case concerning wrongful death, personal injury and nursing home abuse through a contingency fee arrangement. This agreement postpones making payments to our legal firm until after we have successfully resolved your case through a jury trial award or 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. Let us begin working on your case today to ensure your family is adequately compensated for the damages that caused your harm. 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