The Illinois Nursing Home Law Center attorneys investigate, handle and resolve nursing home cases involving abuse, neglect and suspicious deaths occurring in Kane County. Our dedicated team of lawyers will examine the facts to understand what happened, why it happened, and how it happened.
If your loved one was mistreated or died suspiciously while living in an Illinois nursing facility, we can begin working on your case now to ensure your family receives adequate monetary compensation for your damages. Contact our Chicago nursing home abuse lawyers, let us begin working on your claim now to ensure those responsible for your harm are held legally and financially accountable.
This Medicare/Medicaid-participating nursing facility is a "for profit" home providing services to residents of South Elgin and Kane County, Illinois. The 206-certified bed long-term care center is located at:
759 Kane Street
South Elgin, Illinois, 60177
(847) 697-3310
In addition to providing 24/7 skilled nursing care, Tower Hill Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation Center offers other services that include:
The investigators working for the state of Illinois and the federal government have the legal authority to impose monetary fines and deny payment for Medicare services if the nursing home has been cited for serious violations of established regulations and rules.
Within the last three years, state and federal regulators imposed a monetary fine of $21,600 against Tower Hill Healthcare Center on January 20, 2017, due to substandard care. Also, the facility received fifteen formally filed complaints that all resulted in citations. Additional information about penalties and fines can be found on the Illinois Department of Public Health Nursing Home Reporting Website concerning this nursing facility.
Families can visit Medicare.gov and the Illinois Department of Public Health website to review a comprehensive database. This database contains a list of all filed complaints, dangerous hazards, health violations, safety concerns, incident inquiries, and opened investigations in nursing homes in local communities. The regularly updated information can be used to make a well-informed decision on which long-term care facilities in the community provide the highest level of care.
According to Medicare, this facility maintains an overall rating of one out of five stars, including one out of five stars concerning health inspections, two out of five stars for staffing issues and four out of five stars for quality measures. The Kane County neglect attorneys at Nursing Home Law Center have found serious deficiencies and safety concerns at Tower Hill Healthcare Center that include:
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated December 18, 2017, the state investigative team noted that the facility had failed to “ensure a resident with no order for restraint was free from restraint.” The deficient practice by the nursing staff applies to one resident “observed with a restraint.”
The resident’s Care Plan shows that the resident is alert, oriented to others, “uses a wheelchair, able to bear weight and requires assistance for transfers.” The survey team observed the resident “during observation from noon until 1:00 PM while the resident “was seated in the dining room with [another resident].”
During the observation, the resident’s “wheelchair was backed up against the heat register unit that was attached to the dining wall. The wheelchair was locked. There was no place [for the resident] to get out from the dining table.”
At that time, the resident “continues to call out multiple times, ‘get me out of here.’” The other resident “tried to help [the first resident in the wheelchair] but was not able to move the dining table.” A Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) “helped move the table away from [the resident in the wheelchair].”
Two days later at 12:39 PM, the resident “remained ‘boxed in’ between the wall in the dining table and was not able to get out from the dining table.” The investigators reviewed the facility’s policy for restraints that shows that “restraint and safety devices shall only be used with the written order of the physician. Seclusion of a resident shall not be permitted.”
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated December 18, 2017, the state investigators documented that the facility had failed to “monitor and revise a plan of care with specific interventions to prevent the occurrence of further falls.” The deficient practice by the nursing staff affected one of six residents “reviewed for falls.”
An observation was made of a resident at 1:30 PM while “in bed, nonresponsive and lethargic. There was no sign that [the resident] was served lunch.” A Registered Nurse (RN) was asked if the resident “already had lunch.” The RN said that the resident “was lethargic and was pocketing food [in their] mouth. This interview was done at [the resident’s] bedside.”
The RN also said that the resident’s “bruised face was due to a fall that occurred [sometime earlier, stating that the resident] sustained a subdural hematoma from this fall.” The RN added that when the resident “was readmitted to the facility from the hospital, [the resident] was on hospice care due to a medical condition and physical decline.”
The survey team reviewed the facility’s Incident Reports that showed multiple trips occurring between October 22, 2017, and November 22, 2017. On two occasions, the resident “tripped over her feet while ambulating. On another occasion, the resident “tripped over her feet. A fourth incident involved the resident tipping “out of the wheelchair while reaching for something on the floor.”
The resident on another occasion “fell to the floor, tripping over another resident’s wheelchair.” The final documentation of the last fall showed that the resident “attempted to sit on the edge of the bed and slid to the floor; laceration to the upper lip, sent to the emergency room, returning to the facility with sutures.” This documentation shows that the resident was “sent out to a Behavioral Hospital the same day.”
Documentation showed that the resident “was sent to an acute hospital for medical clearance [before] admittance to the Behavioral Hospital. The hospital records dated November 20, 2017, shows a fall, facial trauma, possible nasal injury, acute subdural hemorrhage.” Again, on December 1, 2017, the resident “rolled out of bed” to the floor.
The survey team says that the resident experienced “seven falls during the period of approximately five weeks. The Care Plan showed that there was no specific intervention after” the second to last fall. This had resulted in the resident “being sent to the hospital due to a sustained laceration on the scalp.” The resident “also developed a subdermal hematoma due to the fall.”
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated December 18, 2017, a state investigator noted the nursing home's failure to “follow their policy for hand hygiene during incontinence care.” This deficient practice of the nursing staff involved one of two residents “observed during incontinence care.”
One incident involved a resident being “transferred from her wheelchair to [her] bed by [two Certified Nursing Aides (CNAs)] using a mechanical lift. As [the resident] was lifted from the chair, and overpowering stool odor was noted.”
One CNA said that “I have not changed [this resident’s] incontinence brief since after breakfast, about six hours ago.” The CNA removed the resident’s incontinence brief and said “the brief was soaked with urine. The stool was visible from [the resident’s] pubic area to [thhereir] lower spine. The stool was dry and caked to [the resident’s] skin.”
The CNA wiped the resident’s “pubic area multiple times, with multiple disposable wipes [before] changing gloves multiple times during incontinence care without washing [their] hands between blood changes. The stool was visible on [the CNA’s] gloves each time [they] remove [their] gloves.”
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated January 20, 2017, the state investigators documented that the facility had failed to “identify an unexplainable bruise and conduct a complete investigation to rule out potential abuse.” This deficient practice by the nursing staff involved one resident “in a sample of twenty-six residents evaluated for unexplainable bruises.”
The state survey team observed a resident “seated in her wheelchair at the nurse’s station on the second floor” at approximately 10:30 AM. The resident “had a large purplish bruise on her left lateral hand and wrist.” The resident “could not explain how she sustained the bruising [but] was alert but confused to time, place and person.”
The Wound Care Nurse “was present and did not know how [the resident] sustained the bruising.” The Morning Shift Nurse said that “the bruising may be from blood drawing.” A Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) providing the resident care said that the resident “has that bruise since last month. At 3:30 PM, the Evening Shift Nurse said that “this is the first time she is seeing the bruise. There was no documentation to show when [the resident] sustained the bruising.”
The survey team reviewed the resident’s last Nurse’s Notes. “After the surveyor brought the concern to the attention of [the Morning Shift Nurse, the nurse documented “the bruising in the Nursing Notes. The bruising measured on the left-hand back of the palm 7.0 cm x 5.6 cm; and left lateral forearm 6.5 cm x 10.4 cm.”
As a part of the investigation, the surveyors interviewed the facility Director of Nursing who said that “she was not aware of [the resident’s] bruising [and that she recently] reported the incident to the State Agency, and she is in the process of investigating.”
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated January 20, 2017, the state investigators documented that the facility had failed to “conduct a pressure ulcer risk assessment and analyze the root cause of [a resident’s] development of a facility-acquired pressure injury.”
The surveyors say that the nursing home also “failed to develop an Individualized Plan of Care and interventions to address the identified new areas of [the resident’s] pressure injuries.” The nursing home also “failed to provide off-loading devices to prevent the development of additional pressure injuries. This resulted in [the resident] acquiring an unstageable pressure injury on the coccyx and deep tissue pressure injuries on [their] right and left elbow that the facility was not aware of.”
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated January 20, 2017, the state surveyor noted that the nursing home had “failed to identify targeted behaviors and conduct comprehensive assessments for residents with dementia who received antipsychotic medications.” The deficient practice by the nursing staff affected two of four residents “reviewed for the use of antipsychotic medications.”
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated June 25, 2018, the state surveyor said that the nursing home “failed to meet professional standards of nursing by signing the resident’s Medication Administration Record without administering the medications.” The deficient practice by the nursing staff applies to one of five residents “reviewed for improper nursing care.”
Do you believe that your loved one suffered harm or injuries while living at Tower Hill Healthcare Center? If so, contact the Illinois nursing home abuse and neglect lawyers at Nursing Home Law Center at (800) 926-7565 now. Our network of attorneys fights aggressively on behalf of Kane County victims of mistreatment living in long-term facilities including nursing homes in South Elgin. Contact us now to schedule a free case review to discuss how to obtain justice and resolve a financial compensation claim.
Our team of skilled senior resident injury attorneys can assist your family and successfully resolve your case for financial recompense against all parties including the facility, doctors, nurses, and staff members that caused your loved one's harm. We accept every nursing home neglect case, wrongful death lawsuit, personal injury claim for compensation through a contingency fee agreement. This arrangement will postpone payment of our legal services until after our lawyers have resolved your case through a negotiated settlement or jury trial award.
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 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 Jonathan Rosenfeld
Licensed in Illinois
Chicago Nursing Home Injury Attorney Nursing Home Law Center LLC Home