Is it your duty to protect your loved one from mistreatment while they live in a Caroll County nursing facility? Are you concerned that they are being mistreated, neglected, or abused by caregivers, employees, visitors, or other patients? If so, contact the Maryland Nursing Home Law Center attorneys now for immediate legal intervention.
Let our team of lawyers work on your family’s behalf to ensure that your loved one receives the dignity and respect they deserve. We will use the law to hold those responsible legally and financially accountable. We can begin working on your case today to ensure you receive monetary compensation for your damages.
This center is a 170-certified bed Medicare and Medicaid-participating facility providing services to residents of Westminster and Caroll County, Maryland. The "for profit" long-term care home is located at:
1234 Washington Boulevard
Westminster, Maryland 21157
(410) 848-0700
Westminster Healthcare Center
In addition to providing around the clock skilled nursing care, Westminster Healthcare Center offers other services. Additional focused care includes outpatient dialysis, post-surgical orthopedic care, on-site wound care, cancer care, diabetes management, intensive intravenous (IV) therapies, pain management, and restorative nursing services.
When investigators working for the federal government identify severe violations of nursing home rules and regulations, they can penalize the facility by a denial of payment for Medicare services or impose monetary fines.
This nursing facility also received thirty-one complaints and self-reported three serious issues over the last three years that resulted in violation citations. Additional information about this nursing home can be found on the Maryland Nursing Home Information Website.
The state of Maryland and Medicare.com routinely update their comprehensive list of deficiencies online to reflect all violations
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 three out of five stars for quality measures.
According to state investigators, “it was determined the facility failed to thoroughly investigate and report an allegation of neglect.” The survey team interviewed a resident on the morning of October 30, 2017, and asked, “had staff, residents or anyone else here abused you – this includes verbal, physical or sexual abuse?”
The resident replied, “Yes, once during the night awhile back I got ready for bed. The Aide put me in bed, and she put two diapers on me, and she put a couple of towels on me, and when the Director of Nursing found out, the Aide was fired.”
The survey team interviewed the Director of Nursing two days later and asked if they were “aware of the incident. The Director stated that they remember that when they came and that day, “staff was upset that the Agency Geriatric Nursing Assistant (GNA) left the resident soiled. The Director of Nursing stated that they called the agency and told him they did not want that GNA back.”
The Staff Coordinator “looked at the schedule and said the last time the GNA worked at the facility was on October 10, 2017” a few weeks earlier. The Director stated that they “sent paperwork to the Board of Nursing but did not have documentation that it was sent or received.”
The surveyor asked the Director if they felt “at the time it was neglect, and that is why they did not want the GNA back.” The Director stated that “it was not reported to the Office of Health Care Quality [and that they] could not find any documentation in [their] composition book or the computer related to the issue.”
The nursing home “failed to thoroughly investigate the background of a newly hired employee.” The survey team reviewed the newly hired employee’s personnel files that revealed one personnel file it was “missing a comprehensive background check, which would include a federally mandated Health and Human Services (HHS), the Office of Inspector General’s (OIG) list of excluded Individuals/Entities and federal and state exclusion screening.”
While the review was conducted on November 2, 2017, and numerous background checks were missing; the employee was hired on April 18, 2017.” The Human Resource Manager stated that they had begun working at the facility two weeks before and stated that if it is an in the folder, they did not have the documentation” to show that the background checks had been completed as required by law.
Were you the victim of mistreatment while you lived at Westminster Healthcare Center? Contact the Maryland nursing home abuse lawyers at the Nursing Home Law Center at (800) 926-7565 for immediate legal intervention. We represent Caroll County victims of abuse and neglect in all areas, including Westminster.
Discuss your case with us now through an initial case consultation at no charge to you. Also, we offer a 100% “No Win/No-Fee” Guarantee. This promise means we postpone payment for our services until after we have secured a monetary recovery on your behalf.
Sources:
Attorney Joe Musso
Licensed in Maryland
Chicago Nursing Home Injury Attorney Nursing Home Law Center LLC Home