Elder Law

Illinois Nursing Home Violation: Pine Terrace

By Levin & Perconti

Our look at the latest report of Illinois nursing homes that have been found to have violated basic laws concerning resident health, care, and safety continues today. A Chicago-area nursing home, Pine Terrace, located in Waukegan recently received several Type ?A Violations from the Illinois Department of Public Health and fined $40,000. The violations resulted in part from the facility?s poor treatment of several residents suffering from pneumonia.

Specifically, investigators of the facility reported that there was inadequate care given to residents with pneumonia in the small sample of residents examined, placing over a dozen at risk for severe illness or death.

Overall, the Illinois nursing home failed to ensure that nurses completed an on-going assessment of the sick individuals after the diagnosis, including basic lapses like no monitoring of vital signs, temperature, and lung sounds. The facility did not abide by general hospital guidelines regarding the activity of residents with the illness including ensuring proper rest and drinking milk.

The staff involved in treating the residents were not trained in recognizing any signs or symptoms of pneumonia. That inadequate training likely affected the poor care given to the residents suffering from the potentially life threatening complication. The immune systems of many residents are particularly vulnerable. It is therefore unconscionable that staff members and medical personnel at a nursing home would be untrained and ill-equipment to provide even the most basic pneumonia-related care to help save these residents? lives.

Full post as published by Illinois Nursing Home Abuse Blog on January 01, 2011 (boomark / email).