‘Horrific’ Care Incidents Place Residents in Jeopardy at Iowa Nursing Home Numerous Times:
Following a series of complaints of deficient care, the Genesis Senior Living nursing home in Iowa was cited for several federal and state citations related to nursing home malpractice.
State inspectors found residents of an Iowa nursing home to be in immediate jeopardy as a result of actions consistent with nursing home malpractice, according to an Iowa Capital Dispatch article. As per the news story, a former staff nurse at the home called the quality-of-care standards there “horrific.”
After complaints against the facility accumulated, inspectors made an examination of the Genesis Senior Living nursing home in Des Moines in April and determined that 13 federal and two state citations related to nursing home malpractice were warranted against the home. Among the citations of nursing home malpractice were the following:
- Failure to meet quality-of-care standards
- Failure to protect residents from abuse and neglect
- Failure to investigate or respond to alleged violations
- Failure to adequately protect residents from infections
- Failure to notify family members of residents’ worsening conditions
The former staff nurse, who reportedly left the facility at the end of last year as a result of the shoddy care there, gave state inspectors multiple examples of incidents of “horrific” care equaling nursing home malpractice. Among these examples, and others discovered by inspectors, were the following:
- Neglected Infection: Last December the nurse discovered the dressing on a resident’s open foot wound had not been changed since its application eight days earlier. In changing the dressing, the nurse found the wound to be oozing and extremely foul-smelling. Despite the ordering of an antibiotic, the wound worsened in severity and odor, eventually landing the resident in the hospital, where it was determined that exposed bone within the wound had become infected, requiring four surgeries with bone grafts and a ten week hospital stay. As evidenced in this situation, nursing home infections that go untreated can be dangerous, and even deadly, potentially requiring the involvement of a wrongful death attorney.
- Medication Errors: When the nurse would begin her night shift, she would frequently discover that the day-shift medications had not been distributed to patients. Nursing home medication errors often are the result of poor care or insufficient staffing and thereby indicate nursing home malpractice has occurred.
- Poor Hygiene Care Given to Residents: At times, Genesis residents requiring two showers per week went seven days without being bathed. One resident requesting daily bathing went two weeks without a shower. Hygiene care is paramount in nursing homes, particularly for residents prone to bedsores, and failure to do is a sign of nursing home malpractice.
- Unsafe Mechanical-Lift Transfers: Inspectors found that in six of seven incidents wherein residents were injured during mechanical-lift transfers, Genesis did not ensure residents’ safety and thereby placed residents in immediate jeopardy during the time period of those incidents (Jan. 9 through April 26). Nursing home injuries are frequently indicative of neglectful care and nursing home malpractice.
- Neglect and Abuse by CNAs: Residents reported to the inspectors a range of incidents of neglect and abuse by certified nurse aides. Incidents of neglect included aides shirking work by hiding in closets or talking on their phones. Those of abuse involved treating residents rudely. One particular incident involved an aide telling a resident who’d been waiting for an undergarment change to “F—ing change yourself.” Any incidence of nursing home abuse and neglect should be looked into by a nursing home malpractice or wrongful death attorney.
The fines imposed by the state are currently suspended while the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services determine if federal penalties are necessary. According to the article, CMS has fined Genesis 10 times in the past two years.
Fighting Nursing Home Neglect, Elder Abuse, and Wrongful Death
Attorney Brian P. Murphy is dedicated to ensuring negligent Philadelphia/PA or NJ nursing homes be held responsible for incidents of nursing home malpractice. As an experienced nursing home malpractice and wrongful death attorney, Brian Murphy fights untiringly to uphold the rights and preserve the health and safety of Philadelphia/PA and NJ nursing home residents. Should you find yourself needing to contact a nursing home malpractice and wrongful death attorney, call Brian Murphy today to discuss your legal options.
