Tennessee Injury Lawyer Blog
In Tennessee and all across the country, families place their elderly loved ones in nursing homes each year. When doing so, they expect that their loved ones will be properly taken care of and looked after. Unfortunately, many nursing homes are understaffed, overworked, and improperly trained. According to recent reports, a Nashville nursing home has received fines totaling $240,000 in the last year due to violations of state and federal regulations which placed patients in “immediate jeopardy” The citations were given on May 12th for and the other on Dec. 6th for $8,000 following an inspection by surveyors from the Health Department of Crestview Health and Rehabilitation Center. The May citation has been paid according to a spokeswoman for the agency but the $8,000 citation is still pending.
In May, the citations were given for failing to inform a treating physician of the deteriorating condition of one of his patients, who was later found dead. The patient’s physical and mental health had deteriorated with “repeated behaviors, anxiety, agitation, repeatedly low oxygen, symptoms of swelling, dyspnea, coolness, paleness and abnormal lung sounds and elevated temperature.”The report revealed that the failure to inform the physician placed the resident “in immediate jeopardy.”According to the report, the physician told the state inspector that had he known about the patient’s decline, he “would have sent him out,” adding, “He needed to go back to the hospital.”The physician said he also was not informed that his patient was found eating a topical ointment that contained a warning that ingestion of large quantities could be hazardous. The unnamed patient was found not breathing early on the morning of Jan. 19th of last year and was pronounced dead.
The inspection report also cited the nursing home for verbally abusing two incontinent patients and for failing to investigate and report suspected abuse and also for failing to treat a pressure sore that caused harm to a patient. They were also cited for failing to develop patient care plans. Robert Jordan, spokesman for Vanguard Healthcare, which owns Crestview, said all the deficiencies have been corrected and new management put in place at the nursing home. He also stated that, “We are restoring our high standards for quality care at Crestview.” As a Nashville Nursing Home Negligence Lawyer I truly hope Crestview will do as promised.
Nursing home fines like this unfortunately occur all too often because Tennessee as well as other nursing homes across the country are improperly trained, overworked, and understaffed. If you feel that someone you love or care about has been improperly cared for or neglected while in a nursing home, we recommend that you contact one of our caring and knowledgeable Tennessee nursing home abuse and neglect lawyers right away. We care about our clients and will work with you to make sure you get the compensation you deserve for what you have suffered.
Contact us online or call us at 800.705.2121 to set up a FREE consultation to discuss your legal options
