IDPH has cited and fined Generations Oakton Pavilion nursing home in Des Plaines after a resident there suffered a broken hip in a fall.
Dementia is a huge risk factor for nursing home falls. This is because when a resident suffers from dementia, they cannot be counted on to follow instructions from the staff, follow facility routines, or make good decisions regarding their own safety. When a resident suffers from either intermittent or constant confusion or dementia, this must be addressed in the resident fall prevention care plan, usually keeping a resident under direct observation when possible and with frequent rounding when that is not possible.
The resident at issue suffered from dementia and was wheelchair bound. Despite this, she had six falls at this nursing home before the one which led IDPH to issue the citation to the nursing home. This is a resident who was quite clearly a fall risk due to her musculoskeletal issues, her dementia, and her past history of falls.
The fall occurred in the morning during breakfast service. The resident was brought to the dining room in her wheelchair, but left during while meal trays were being served to the other residents. The aide who had been assigned to care for the resident that morning was passing out trays to residents who were eating in their rooms, so she was counting on the other aides to keep watch over the resident.
The resident was able to wheel herself out of the dining room without anyone noticing and wheeled herself to the shower room where she got up out of her wheelchair. She fell and was discovered on the ground by another staff member. She had obvious shortening of one leg which is a sign of a fractured hip, so 911 was called. She was taken to the hospital where x-rays confirmed the presence of the broken hip.
Federal regulations call for residents to receive supervision and assistive devices necessary to prevent accidents. This includes falls. This incident demonstrates the truism that when it’s everybody’s job, it is really no one’s job because no one is specifically accountable for getting the job done. The aide assigned to this resident couldn’t be watching her since she was passing out trays to bedbound residents. And since she wasn’t specifically watching this resident, no one really was – with the net result being the fall which resulted in this fractured hip.
One of our core beliefs is that nursing homes are built to fail due to the business model they follow and that unnecessary accidental injuries and wrongful deaths of nursing home residents are the inevitable result. Order our FREE report, Built to Fail, to learn more about why. Our experienced Chicago nursing home lawyers are ready to help you understand what happened, why, and what your rights are. Contact us to get the help you need.
Other blog posts of interest:
Assisi at Clare Oaks resident suffers broken neck in fall from wheelchair
Multiple fractures from fall at Lutheran Home for the Aged
Warren Barr North Shore resident rolled from bed, suffers multiple fractures to ankle
Grosse Pointe Manor resident falls and breaks hip after being left unattended
Improper use of sit-to-stand lift results in multiple fractures at Radford Green in Lincolnshire
Fall from shower chair leads to brain bleed and death at Manorcare of Arlington Heights
Resident suffers broken hip in unsafe transfer at the Pearl of Rolling Meadows
Click here to file a complaint about a nursing home with the Illinois Department of Public Health.
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