Tennessee Injury Lawyer Blog
Cornelia House, located off Ellington Parkway near Shelby Bottoms Park here in Nashville, was ordered by The Tennessee Department of Health this weekend to no longer admit residents until it cleans up its act and provides a safe environment for those under its care. The 159-bed nursing home is also facing a $7,500 fine for recent violations brought to investigators’ attention by a complaint filed last month. An additional fine of $6,200 a day may be imposed until violations have been corrected. According to The Tennessee Department of Health, this is the fourth year in a row that Cornelia House has been sited for conditions that put their residents in immediate risk of harm.
Nursing homes are businesses. While they should provide a healthy and active environment to our elderly loved ones, the dollar is always their bottom line. Cutting costs often means cutting corners, such as providing inadequate attention to residents, using restraints instead of implementing fall plans or, as in one of the many citations issued against Cornelia House, having inadequate measures in place to prevent residents from wandering out the facilities.
Unfortuantly, it is not a surpise to hear about this sanction. Our firm has represented a number of families that have been victims of nursing home neglect. It is a pattern that must stop.
