The staff at the nursing home has an obligation to provide your loved one with care that complies with numerous laws and regulations. When they fail to and it injures your loved one, your family may have a claim for financial compensation. Contact the Nursing Home Law Center attorneys to find out whether you have a possible legal claim against the nursing home.
This nursing home is a 166 bed for-profit facility that offers short and long-stay care to residents of the San Francisco Bay area. The Medicare/Medicaid approved facility is located at:
2200 Tuolumne St
Vallejo, CA 94589
(707) 644-7401
Windsor Vallejo Nursing and Rehabilitation
In order to receive payment under the Medicare and Medicaid programs, nursing homes must remain in compliance with certain federal regulations. These rules are highly prescriptive and govern the care offered at a facility in a detailed manner. The federal government will contract with the state to perform an annual inspection of the facility on behalf of CMS. The state will make recommendations on the appropriate disciplinary action for the facility, which the federal government can decide whether or not to accept. California inspectors are known to be very detail-oriented and very stringent when assessing compliance with regulations.
Windsor Vallejo is a part of a chain that has a number of underperforming nursing homes in California. Windsor Vallejo received a payment denial from Medicare in 2018. Medicare will subject nursing homes to the penalty when there are unaddressed deficiencies or when there is significant deficiency. The effect of this is that the nursing home cannot receive reimbursements from the government for new residents although it does not impact existing residents.
The 2019 inspection report revealed a deterioration in the quality of care at the facility. The number of health citations increased from nine to 25. In addition, there have been four separate complaint investigations in the past year that have resulted in citations. While the facility has not received a fine from the state or federal governments in the past three years, the number of complaints and deficiencies is on the rise.
Many of the incidents that were noted by the inspectors involve a lack of attention by the staff. For example, there were significant medication errors by the staff in administering morning medication late to several residents. Prior to that, the facility was cited for a multitude of different deficiencies that resulted in undignified treatment of residents. For example, one resident was left sitting in their feces for an extended period of time. Multiple other residents had call lights that were not answered for long periods, leaving them in various states of discomfort. Family members were reporting to inspectors that they had to assist their loved one with meals and going to the bathroom since there was not staff readily available to help. This was actually the second citation in a six-month period for these exact same issues. Promptly answering call lights is an essential element of treating residents with dignity and also helping to prevent the spread of infection throughout the facility. While the facility seemingly maintains an adequate amount of staff, these issues are indicative of a lack of supervision and training. Further, there numerous other issues of this type in the most recent inspection report. For example, an unlicensed staff member refused to follow-up on a resident’s request to have their toilet cleaned telling the resident “that is not my job.”
The nursing home failed on multiple occasions to develop individualized care plans for each resident based on their needs. Federal regulations require that nursing homes develop and implement a complete care plan that meets all the resident's needs, with timetables and actions that can be measured. The nursing home lack this for six of 29 residents in the inspection sample. In addition, the facility failed to develop a pressure ulcer care plan for a resident. Windsor Vallejo reported a rate of pressure ulcers among its residents that was significantly higher than the national average. Pressure ulcers care requires both planning and execution from the staff as the resident needs to be frequently repositioned and pressure ulcers need to be treated daily. Further, there was a documented instance in which staff failed to provide a resident with incontinence care for several hours. This not only impacts the senior’s dignity, but it also places them at a higher risk for a urinary tract infection.
Treating your loved one in a manner that does not befit their dignity is not necessarily a legal issue that is grounds for a lawsuit. However, there are other impacts to the senior that can result from treatment like this that can cause them physical and emotional damages. For example, failure to provide incontinence care can cause a urinary tract infection. When this causes an injury, your family does have grounds to sue the nursing home for financial compensation. The attorneys at the Nursing Home Law Center have litigated cases against nursing homes throughout California and can help you and your family. Contact or call today at (800) 926-7565 to schedule your free no-risk case consultation.
Attorney Anthony Lanzone
Licensed in California
Chicago Nursing Home Injury Attorney Nursing Home Law Center LLC Home