Attorney for Negligence Claims at Generations at Elmwood Park
It’s your worst nightmare, but if a family member in nursing home care suffers abuse, would you be able to spot it? You might assume your loved one would tell you if someone was hurting them, but that often isn’t the case with nursing home residents. Abuse victims of all ages are often too confused or ashamed to report abuse.
Sometimes, abuse is subtle; the victim doesn’t want to make a fuss or be accused of making false accusations. A mentally frail adult in assisted living might not realize what is happening to them or be able to communicate what they’re experiencing. They may also fear retribution if they tell on their abuser.
For these reasons it’s important to educate yourself on the facts and signs of nursing home abuse so you can see it and act if a relative is ever being abused. The first thing you should know is that nursing home abuse is less common than domestic elder abuse, but reports of it are growing. It is estimated that as many as 1 in 3 nursing home residents will experience some form of abuse, but the number could be higher because elder abuse is one of the most underreported types of abuse in the US.
Nursing home abuse victims are most likely to receive help when they have attentive friends and family visiting them often. Frequent visits can actually prevent abuse, but seeing your loved one and their surroundings on a regular basis is often the only way you’ll become aware that something isn’t right.
You should also know what the signs of abuse are. It isn’t always obvious, but if you are careful to look for changes in your relative’s health and behavior from visit to visit, you should be able to notice if something is off. From there you can question your relative or their caregivers about the cause of these changes.
So, what are specific signs of abuse? These vary as much as types of abuse do. For instance, signs of physical abuse could include unexplained bruises, cuts, burns, and fractures. A new case of an STD can indicate sexual abuse. Dehydration, sudden weight loss, bedsores, frequent trips to the emergency room, poor hygiene, and dirty living conditions are just a few signs of neglect. Additionally, a nursing home resident may show behavioral signs of trauma, such as rocking back and forth, sudden aggression, depression, or trouble sleeping.
Nursing homes have a duty and legal obligation to prevent abuse by performing thorough background checks on new staff and providing abuse awareness training and effective procedures for staff to report suspicious behavior. However, family members of nursing home residents can do their part too.
From our work with nursing home abuse victims, Levin & Perconti believes the first step is to pick the right nursing home for your loved one. By that we mean picking a facility with a proven history of quality care and safety. To help you do this, we share information taken from medicare.org about Illinois nursing homes like Generations at Elmwood Park for you to easily understand and compare between different facilities. This information includes the ratings Medicare awards each nursing home every year and recent health inspection reports. We hope this insight helps you pick only the highest rated nursing homes for your senior family members, so they have the best chance of not being victimized.
In the event that a loved one does suffer abuse in assisted living; however, you should know how to report it. Familiarize yourself with the facility’s grievance procedure so you can follow its steps and alert the nursing home as to what’s going on. It is their duty to listen to complaints, report abuse to the proper authorities, and investigate claims of abuse. They should also do all they can to prevent further incident.
Levin & Perconti hopes no one you love ever comes to harm in a nursing home, but just in case, we are here for you. If you or a family member should suffer personal injury in a nursing home or a nursing home fails to fulfill its duties in preventing abuse, you may have grounds to take legal action. With our nursing home abuse law expertise, Levin & Perconti is ready to help you with such a case.
About Generations at Elmwood Park
7733 W Grand Ave
Elmwood Park, IL 60707
(708) 452-9200
Generations at Elmwood Park is a large rehabilitation and post-acute care facility with 245 Medicare-certified beds for both short- and long-term stays. The home offers skilled nursing, memory care, short-term rehabilitation, wound care, IV therapy, respiratory care, and hospice services.
Unfortunately, Generations at Elmwood Park received poor ratings from Medicare across the board. The facility was rated as Much Below Average for quality measures, Average for staffing, and Below Average for health inspections. Together, these low ratings earned the facility a Much Below Average overall rating.
A reading of the facility’s most recent health inspection report can give more clues into why it is rated so poorly and what deficiencies have held it back from being a good nursing home. You can read the full report on medicare.org and the sample below.
1/10/2019 Failure to honor the resident’s right to a dignified existence, self-determination, communication, and to exercise his or her rights. Staff failed to respect a resident by failing to empty a resident’s bedside commode every shift or when asked to. The resident stated that the CNAs are supposed to empty the commode every shift but do not, even when she asks them to. She has only one kidney but must frequently hold her urine because her commode is too full to use. It also causes her room to smell and she relies on her husband to empty the commode and clean her room.
1/10/2019 Failure to honor the resident’s right to a safe, clean, comfortable and homelike environment, including but not limited to receiving treatment and supports for daily living safely. The facility failed to properly maintain functioning showers and medical devices for four residents. Three residents stated that some of the showers did not have enough hot water or water pressure and that some shower heads leak and spray water on the floor. A fourth resident was observed with dried stool on her wheelchair seat from an episode of diarrhea the week before because staff had not cleaned it.
1/10/2019 Failure to develop and implement policies and procedures to prevent abuse, neglect, and theft. The facility failed to follow its abuse policy to report and investigate a potential incident of abuse. A resident stated that a CNA called her names of a racial nature and tells other staff that she is evil. The resident reported this to the facility administrator who told the CNA to refrain from contact with the resident, but failed to document the conflict between the employee and resident and did not record a grievance or investigate the matter further.
1/10/2019 Failure to ensure that a nursing home area is free from accident hazards and provides adequate supervision to prevent accidents. The facility failed to ensure a resident was transferred in a safe manner. The resident has severe cognitive impairment and requires staff to move her between bed, sitting, and standing. A CNA failed to follow interventions stated in the care plan and did not use a gait belt or lock the wheelchair when helping the resident to stand. Instead the wheelchair began to move as the resident was stood up, and the CNA grabbed the back of the resident’s pants to help steady and move her.
Levin & Perconti Will Fight for You
If you or a family member have suffered abuse and neglect at Generations at Elmwood Park or another Illinois nursing home, you need expert representation who isn’t afraid to fight for your rights. Levin & Perconti will help you build a solid case and walk you through every step to win the verdict or settlement you deserve. We’ve already won millions of dollars for former clients in nursing home abuse cases, and we can help you win too. All you have to do is click or call Levin & Perconti at 888-424-5757 today to get started with a free consultation.
Disclaimer: The above health inspection findings are taken from public records kept and published by Medicare and the state of Illinois and are not complete. Levin & Perconti cannot confirm that this page’s content includes the latest information available. Any corrections or additions made to these public records after publication of this page will not be found here. For the most up-to-date information, visit www.il.gov or medicare.gov. This page is a legal advertisement and informational resource for visitors and is not endorsed by the named facility or any government agency. Levin & Perconti does not have any affiliation with the named facility.
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During that time, my family and I suffered the loss of my mother. Mr. Levin and Mr. Perconti were more than just our lawyers. Words can’t really express our gratitude.
They were most patient and responded timely to many questions throughout the entire process. All demonstrated professionalism and extensive knowledge of case and state laws. Their in-depth investigative work uncovered details which were unknown to us and yet sadly confirmed our suspicions. We would recommend the Levin and Perconti Law firm and especially this team.
During that time, my family and I suffered the loss of my mother. Mr. Levin and Mr. Peconti were more than just our lawyers. Words can’t really express our gratitude. My family and I will always be grateful for the compassion that they showed us. I want to thank you for what you did for my family, and for always being there for us.
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