Nursing home laws and regulations exist for a reason; namely to protect your loved one who resides there. When these laws are broken, the nursing home can face consequences on several levels. Besides the fines described below, you can also file a lawsuit against the nursing home that has failed to give your loved one adequate care. The attorneys at the Nursing Home Law Center can help you through this process.
This nursing home is a 99 bed for-profit facility that offers short and long-stay care to residents of the Greater Los Angeles area. The Medicare/Medicaid approved facility is located at:
3533 Motor Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90034
(310) 836-8900
Windsor Care Center of Cheviot Hills
Nursing homes are subject to a strict regulatory regime that they must follow. While many nursing homes continue to operate with years of well below-average quality ratings, the Medicare inspection reports and the state enforcement actions shed light for the public on the low quality of care at the facility. When there is actual harm done to a resident as a result of a violation, the nursing home will likely face fines. While the federal government has made it more difficult to fine nursing homes recently, the State of California is an aggressive regulator, and they have a propensity to step up their regulation when the federal government reduces theirs.
Windsor Care Center of Cheviot Hills received a $23,755 fine from the federal government for several incidents of abuse involving three different CNAs. One CAN left a resident lying in his urine and neglected to change the resident or provide them with a shower when it was needed. Another CNA verbally abused a resident in addition to neglecting them and was even truculent with the inspectors when they asked for the CAN’s name and position. The third CAN was also abusive to a resident when moving them using a Hoyer Lift and then walked out the room, leaving the resident wet in their briefs for 12 hours. Several nursing homes in this chain have received fines and citations for incidents involving either verbal or physical abuse of residents. Verbal abuse is as bad as physical abuse since it affects the mental well-being of the resident. The State of California also fined the nursing home for the same incident.
The facility was found to not have the proper procedures in place to prevent abuse. Further, Windsor Care Center did not promptly investigate and report suspected instances of resident abuse.
Windsor Care Center has a poor rate of hospitalization among its residents for both the short and long-stay parts of the facility. The national average rate of hospitalization is 1.75 hospitalizations per 1,000 resident days. This facility’s hospitalization rate is more than double that. Medicare will punish a nursing home with a high hospitalization rate by penalizing it a small percentage of its reimbursements from the federal program. In addition, those who are in the short-stay program have roughly a one in three chance of requiring further hospitalization.
Since its most recent annual inspection in May 2018, this nursing home has received four citations that have resulted from complaint inspections. Two of these citations involved situations where the nursing home failed to take the proper safety precautions that were recommended as a result of falls suffered by residents.
The most recent annual inspection discovered numerous instances where the nursing home staff failed to assist residents when necessary. For example, staff left residents in wet briefs for extended periods of time. They also failed to respond to requests from residents to transfer them to and from their beds. There were several other noted occurrences where staff failed to offer call lights and requests for help, leaving residents to suffer in pain and discomfort. Throughout the inspection report, there was a common theme of residents feeling that the staff was ignoring them and that nobody cared. Residents expressed a fear of dying because staff did not take the proper care of them. There were numerous findings that staff failed to assist the residents with the necessary activities of daily life, including showers and grooming. Residents were observed dirty and unchanged, conditions that could potentially lead to skin breakdowns and infections. Several nurses were found to lack the required competencies to provide specific care that was necessary for residents.
Given the complaints filed after the 2018 inspection report, the facility still has not made the necessary changes to improve the level of care.
When you see your loved one being treated in the manner that has been described in these inspection reports, it anguishes you and your family. This treatment has the potential to cause harm to your loved one. While failing to provide a level of care is not grounds for a lawsuit in itself, you can receive financial compensation if the nursing home’s neglect or abuse causes an injury to your loved one. Contact us: the attorneys at the Nursing Home Law Center have a depth of experience when dealing with nursing homes that cannot or will not get it right. Call us today at (800) 926-7565 to find out how we can help you and your loved one legally address circumstances such as these.
Attorney Anthony Lanzone
Licensed in California
Chicago Nursing Home Injury Lawyer Nursing Home Law Center LLC Home