Have you recently admitted your loved one into a DuPage County nursing facility to ensure that they receive the highest level of skilled professional care? Do you suspect that they have been abused, neglected or mistreated by caregivers, employees or other patients? If so, contact the Illinois Nursing Home Law Center lawyers for immediate legal intervention.
Our team of Chicago nursing home neglect attorneys has successfully resolved cases just like yours, and we can help your family too. We have investigated hundreds of mistreatment cases throughout Illinois and obtained compensation on behalf of our clients to recover their monetary damages. Let us begin working on your case now to ensure that your rights are protected.
This Medicare/Medicaid-participating center is a 123-certified bed facility providing services to residents of Wheaton and DuPage County, Illinois. The "for profit" long-term care (LTC) home is located at:
1325 Manchester Road
Wheaton, Illinois, 60187
(630) 668-2500
In addition to providing around-the-clock skilled nursing care, Wheaton Care Center also offers other services that include:
Both the state of Illinois and federal agencies penalize nursing homes by denying reimbursement payments from Medicare or imposing monetary fines anytime the facility is cited for a serious violation of established regulations and rules that harm or could harm residents.
Within the last three years, nursing home regulatory agencies imposed a monetary fine of $13,627 against Wheaton Care Center on August 31, 2017, due to substandard care. Also, the facility received six formally filed complaints 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.
Families can review publically available data on every long-term and intermediate care facility in Illinois by visiting numerous state and federal government databases including Medicare.gov and the IL Department of Public Health website. This data is a valuable tool when choosing the best location to place a loved one who needs the highest level of services and care in a safe environment.
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 DuPage County neglect attorneys at Nursing Home Law Center have found serious deficiencies and safety concerns at Wheaton Care Center that include:
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated October 17, 2018, the state investigators documented that the facility had failed to “follow Physician’s orders.” The surveyors observed a resident “in bed” with a right heel pressure sore open with Kerlix wrapped around his right ankle.” At that time, a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) was “providing incontinent care [while the resident’s] right heel wound was laying on the bed linen without dressing on it.”
A Wound Care Nurse stated that the “wound should have been covered.” A review of the resident’s MDS (Minimum Data Set) Assessment shows that the resident requires “extensive assistance of one- to two-person physical assist in bed mobility, transfer, dressing, toilet use, and personal hygiene. It also showed [that the resident] is frequently incontinent of urine and bowel.” The resident’s MDS also shows that the resident “is at risk for pressure ulcers and acquired the right heel pressure sore on September 20, 2018” while at the facility.”
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated October 17, 2018, a state surveyor documented that the facility had failed to “implement its policy to ensure safety during repositioning and transfer of a resident.” This failure “applies to one resident reviewed for safe transfers.”
A review of a resident’s clinical record shows that the resident “has low cognitive function, communication deficits, failure to thrive, speech deficits, and the inability to comprehend what is being asked or what is being spoken.” The resident’s most recent MDS (Minimum Data Set) Assessment dated October 1, 2018, revealed that the resident “requires extensive to total assistance of one- or two-person assistance for bed mobility, transfer, and hygiene.”
The state surveyors observed the resident on the afternoon of October 14, 2018, while “alone in his room and his door was closed.” The resident “was sitting in a recliner wheelchair.” At that time, a Registered Nurse and two Certified Nursing Assistants (CNAs) came into the resident’s room. One CNA “applied a gait belt around [the resident’s] waistline.” The resident “was barely awake, barely responsive, and not able to bear weight when [both CNAs] pulled the resident out of the chair for him to stand up.”
At that time, the CNAs lifted the resident “during transfer since [the resident’s] lower extremities were buckled, contracted and not able to bear weight. In a quick motion, both CNAs transferred the resident “to the bed and had not provided support to the upper trunk and head.” The resident “just flopped back onto the bed with his head nearly hitting the wall.”
The following day at 11:01 AM, the resident “was sitting in his reclining wheelchair [while] in the resident’s hallway.” The resident “was noted to keep sliding down the reclining chair [and] appeared to be sitting in an awkward position and leaned to his right side.” At that time, a Registered Nurse (RN) “pulled him up and straighten his position by [pulling his] sweatpants around the waist area.”
At 3:00 PM that day, the Director of Nursing and Restorative Nurse stated that the CNAs “should have used the mechanical transfer lift device when [the resident] was not able to participate with transfers to ensure their safety.” Both the Director and the restorative nurse also stated that one CNA “should have used a gait belt when [they were repositioning the resident] in his reclining wheelchair to promote safe repositioning.”
The survey team reviewed the resident’s Care Plan dated October 18, 2018, that shows that the resident “has limited ability to transfer self, due to muscle wasting, atrophy and limited range of motion on bilateral knees. The Care Plan also showed to use a mechanical transfer device when [the resident] is drowsy and not able to participate with transfers.”
A review of the resident’s Physical Therapy Notes dated October 2, 2018, revealed that the resident “has knee contractures, unable to weight shift, and needs upper trunk support to maintain balance.”
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated October 17, 2018, the state investigators noted that “the facility failed to provide care to address pain [involving] one resident with dental issues and one resident who did not receive pain medication as ordered.”
One incident involved observation of a resident in her bed who stated that “she has pain in her gums.” The resident stated, “she does not have any pain medication, and when she complains, they only give her Tylenol, which does not help.” The same resident stated the next day that “she was still having pain in her gums after having been given Tylenol earlier.”
The survey team reviewed the resident’s medical diagnoses that show she suffers from chronic pain. Her most recent Brief Interview for Mental Status shows that the resident “has little impairment to cognitive and short-term memory.”
The survey team interviewed the facility Medical Doctor/Medical Director who stated that the resident “has a new issue every time you see her.” The doctor also stated that “she always wants more pain medication.” A Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) stated that she thought that the resident “had Tylenol ordered,” but that was not found in the Physician’s orders.”
The Medical Director signed the resident’s recent Progress Note dated September 14, 2018, that shows that the “patient continues to complain of jaw and gum pain, no new complaints. An associated Resident Progress Note with the same date signed by nursing shows the resident was seen and assessed by [the Medical Director] with no new order given.”
A review of the Resident Progress Note dated August 15, 2018, revealed “an appointment was made for [the resident] to see an oral surgeon on February 4, 2019, and shows the Power of Attorney asked the facility to wait” for a new appointment. The Resident Progress Note dated August 10, 2018, written by the Medical Director shows the “patient does not have any new medical concerns today. The patient complains of jaw and gum pain. She has been seen by the dentist. And the note shows, no new orders.”
The investigative team reviewed the Resident’s Progress Note dated August 9, 2018, signed by the Psychiatric Rehabilitation Services Director. This document also refers that the resident “is telling of pain in the jaw and gums. The resident expressed that the reason for these depressed mood symptoms are all tied to the pain she has in her jaw and gums.”
The Psychiatric Rehabilitation Services Director provided an email that was sent to the nursing department that documents the resident as “having pain associated with her teeth and jaws for the August 9, 2018, Assessment Reference Date period.” The resident “reports issues with her teeth daily and reports at times [her pain will] keep her up at night.”
A review of the resident’s MDS (Minimum Data Set) Assessment shows that the resident reported “having pain frequently during the reporting period that also limited her daytime activity and made it hard for her to sleep at night. No other pain issue was reported.” The resident’s “clinical record contained no assessment showing [the resident] having drug-seeking behavior.”
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated October 17, 2018, a surveyor noted the nursing home's failure to “follow standard infection control practices during a wound dressing change to prevent cross-contamination.” This failure “applies to one resident reviewed for infection control.”
The state survey team observed a resident on the morning of October 14, 2018, while “sitting on the side of his bed.” The resident “was observed to have open wounds to his right foot. One wound was located on the plantar aspect of the right great toe, and one was on the lateral side/plantar aspect of the right foot. Both wounds were exposed and were directly touching the floor. There was no clean barrier between the exposed wounds and the floor.”
The surveyors observed “active bleeding coming from both wounds and blood was continuously dripping to the floor. There was a glove that was placed on the right great toe but does not cover the wound.”
The resident told the surveyors that he has a medical condition “on the lower extremities that had caused pressure and resulted in two open wounds on his right foot.” The resident also stated that a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN)/Wound Treatment Nurse “had removed the wound dressing from his right foot wounds because he was scheduled for a shower.” The LPN “was informed of “the exposed wounds and the bleeding.”
The LPN came to see the resident “and stated that she removed the wound dressing because [the resident] was scheduled for a shower. At 11:45 AM, [the resident had his] shower and [the LPN] initiated wound treatment. All wound treatment dressings were placed in one clear plastic bag.”
The LPN “used hand gel that she kept in her pocket before she donned gloves.” Some of the wound dressing supplies were “individual wound dressing packages.” The LPN “had crossed contaminated the wound dressing supplies, and she did not prepare and open the supplies in just kept going to the wounds and opening the wound supplies and digging into her pocket for the hand gel. This process occurred during the entire wound dressing change.”
Do you suspect that your loved one was victimized by caregivers or other patients while residing at Wheaton Care Center? If so, contact the Illinois nursing home abuse and neglect attorneys at Nursing Home Law Center at (800) 926-7565 today. Our network of attorneys fights aggressively on behalf of DuPage County victims of mistreatment living in long-term facilities including nursing homes in Wheaton. Contact us now to schedule a free case review to discuss how to obtain justice and resolve a financial compensation claim.
Our knowledgeable attorneys can offer legal assistance on your behalf to ensure your case for financial compensation is successfully resolved against every party that caused your loved one harm. Our network of attorneys accepts all nursing home abuse lawsuits, personal injury claims, medical malpractice cases, and wrongful death suits through a contingency fee arrangement. This agreement postpones your payment for our legal services until after we have successfully resolved your case through a jury trial award or a 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. We can begin working on your case today to ensure your family receives monetary recovery for your damages. All information you share with our law offices will remain confidential.
Attorney Jonathan Rosenfeld
Licensed in Illinois
Chicago Nursing Home Injury Lawyer Nursing Home Law Center LLC Home