Falls are one of the most common injuries that occur in nursing homes and long term care facilities, but they are also very preventable. The Augustana Health Care Center in Hastings, Minnesota is being cited for nursing home neglect after a man fell from his wheelchair in March and was not properly cared for after the fall. The state is saying that the facility did not appropriately monitor the man who had suffered a head injury.
Man Dies From Large Hematoma After Fall From Wheelchair
According to a report issued by the Minnesota Department of Health Facility Complaints Office, the man fell from his wheelchair on March 8th and suffered a “large hematoma, approximately four centimeters by three centimeters, on his left forehead.” He had bleeding that was putting pressure on his brain and depriving him of oxygen. The patient was examined 30 minutes after the fall, but no vital signs or neurological tests were done for at least three hours. Four hours after the fall, he was unresponsive and his vital signs were not stable. The nursing home transferred him to a hospital where he died two days later on March 10th. The death certificate states the cause of death as a “massive intracranial hemorrhage.”
The report says the neglect occurred when “staff did not assess, monitor and treat“ the resident in a timely manner “when signs and symptoms indicated a head injury.” The report also said that the nursing home did not follow “standards of practice for ongoing post fall examinations/assessments, including vital signs and neurological assessments.”
After the resident’s death, the Augustana Health Care Center has taken several steps towards increasing care including revising policies when handling falls and head injuries and retraining nurses and staff members. Disciplinary action has been taken against the nurse who was assigned to care for the man who died.
The facility did not provide proper care to this man after he fell from his wheelchair. Unfortunately, according to the man’s primary care doctor, even if correct treatment had been given immediately after the fall, the man would have still died due to his complex medical issues. This shows how important prevention of nursing home neglect is when caring for the elderly.
Nursing Home Neglect Lawyers in New Jersey and Philadelphia
If your loved one is currently a resident of a nursing home or care facility and you are worried that the care they are receiving is negligent, abusive, or inadequate, contact the Mininno Law Office for a free case evaluation. You may also call for a free consultation at (856) 833-0600 in New Jersey, or (215) 567-2380 in Philadelphia.
An 82-year-old man from Illinois died this month at Heartland Healthcare nursing home. According to the police report, Irvin W. Brackett was found by nursing assistant Annette Payton at 10:30 p.m. on the floor with an oxygen tube and electrical cord wrapped around his neck and tied to an assistance lever that was hanging over his bed. Payton immediately called other nurses for help. They removed the constraints and began emergency resuscitation. An ambulance was called to help but nothing could be done and the nursing home called for the coroner at 12:16 a.m. Brackett was pronounced dead at the scene by the Knox County Coroner Mark Thomas. According to Thomas: 
On April 17, Grove called an ambulance to her home because she believed she was overdosing on drugs. While in the home, police found the elderly couple injured and in unsanitary conditions. The 77 year old husband was found in his urine soaked bed with blood and feces smeared on the bed and bed frame. Both victims were taken to the hospital. the husband was taken for facial bruises, broken ribs, and a partially collapsed lung, and his 82 year old wife was taken for a hand and wrist injury which she said she received when Grove pushed her wheelchair across the room and pinned her hand against the wall. The wife also told the police she heard Grove beating her husband on several occasions. The couple is bedridden/confined to wheelchairs, the husband has had part of his leg amputated, and the wife recently had hip surgery. The husband was in the hospital several weeks prior to this when he had to have one of his eyes surgically removed after a TV set fell on him, which his wife believes was an injury from Grove.
Sherrye Dianne Huff, the former administrator of the home, was arrested in May on five felony charges- three counts of theft and two counts of exploiting an elderly or disabled person- and one misdemeanor charge of theft for stealing from an Alzheimer’s patient. Donna Tower, the elderly man’s niece, said that the man would tell his family that someone was stealing from him but everyone brushed it off because of his Alzheimer’s. They later found out that he was telling the truth and Huff was taking his checks.
– Physical Abuse is the non-accidental use of physical force that may result in injury, physical pain or impairment of an elderly person. Physical abuse includes acts of violence such as hitting, beating, shaking, shoving, kicking and burning as well as inappropriate use of medications, physical restraints, depriving basic needs and force-feeding.
Ella Jean Moorer is facing a charge of Injury to the elderly, disabled reckless bodily injury for an incident where she injured an 88-year-old patient who has severe Alzheimer’s. According to other staff members of the nursing home, Moorer was trying to change the patient’s clothes when he resisted… “She then became frustrated and grabbed the elderly man’s upper arm, pushed him towards the toilet, put him in a head lock and tried to force him to the toilet with her hand on his chest”. The man later complained of chest pains and had bruising on his upper arm. Moorer denied the incident to the nursing home administrators. She was put on administrative leave and later fired. According to facility administrator Timothy Stuteville:
The Johnson Mathers Nursing Home in Carlisle, Kentucky received a Type A citation from the Cabinet for Health and Family Services’ Office of Inspector General on May 10 for an April 30, 2010 incident of nursing home neglect where a resident’s life or safety was endangered because of violations of state regulations. The incident involved a newly admitted resident who was on a pureed diet and had requested all necessary measures be taken to save her life.
Eisenreich, who bought the nursing homes in 1991, is also misusing Omni funds for his own personal gain. In 2007, Omni made over 20 million dollars in profit while 90% of their funding comes from tax dollars. He was not using the money to improve facility care or increase employee salary. He paid caregivers as little as $7.90 an hour while he paid himself more than $1,500 an hour. He had not invested in training programs in over two years. Eisenreich would intimidate and harass his employees, refused to offer them a reasonable family healthcare plan, and created a hostile work environment. In 2009, 400 Omni workers went on strike that lasted three days to send a message to Eisenreich and the rest of Omni that they wanted fair treatment and pay.