According to a recent report, a nurse at an Illinois nursing home was charged with criminal neglect of an elderly person, after allegedly withholding an 83-year-old resident’s medications.
Prosecutors in Madison County, Illinois claim that Trudy Eller, a nurse at Manor Court of Maryville, consciously chose to withhold medication from resident, Joseph Giacaletto, for 45 days earlier this year. Mr. Giacaletto was hospitalized earlier this year, but it was not yet been determined whether Ms. Eller’s alleged withholding of medication was the cause.
This report is not the first time this year that Manor Court has been in the news for all the wrong reasons. In August 2011, a former Manor Court employee sued the home’s owner for retaliatory discharge, after she was allegedly terminated after reporting that staff members were neglecting residents. The former employee claims that she personally witnessed nursing home employees attempting to conceal an investigation into the escape of a patient who later died, and that nursing home employees failed to help a resident with breathing difficulties.
A review of the most recent surveys from the Illinois Department of Public Health shows that in March 2011 shows that inspectors cited Manor Court six times for placing residents in immediate jeopardy, or for conduct resulting in actual harm. (For the uninitiated, those citations are the two most severe that state inspectors can levy.) In one instance, Manor Court failed to have a licensed pharmacist check the drugs that each resident takes at least once a month. In another, the home failed to immediately notify a resident’s family after the resident was injured.
In related news, The Lexington Herald-Leader recently published the results of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (“CMS”) review of nursing homes in Lexington, Kentucky, and surrounding counties. CMS rates certified nursing homes and assisted-living facilities based upon health inspections, staffing and quality measures. Facilities receiving five stars provide “much-above-average” care, whereas those receiving only one star provide “much-below-average” care. Those facilities with an asterisk have been classified as “Special Focus” facilities, due to histories of persistent poor quality of care, and must undergo more frequent inspections.
Five stars
Homestead Nursing Center, Lexington
Tanbark Health Care Center, Lexington
Pine Meadows Health Care, Lexington
Cambridge Place, Lexington
Bourbon Heights Nursing Home, Paris
Telford Terrace, Richmond
The Terrace Nursing & Rehabilitation Center, Berea
Four stars
Cardinal Hill Rehab Unit at Samaritan Hospital, Lexington
Sayre Christian Village Nursing Home, Lexington
Clark Regional Medical Center, Winchester
Three stars
Rose Manor Health Care, Lexington
Kenwood Health and Rehabilitation Center, Richmond
Signature Healthcare of Georgetown, Georgetown
Two stars
Mayfair Manor, Lexington
Northpoint/Lexington Healthcare Center, Lexington
Richmond Place Rehabilitation and Health Center, Lexington
Dover Manor, Georgetown
Bluegrass Care & Rehabilitation Center, Lexington*
Royal Manor, Nicholasville
One star
Fountain Circle Health and Rehabilitation, Winchester*
Lexington Country Place, Lexington
Berea Health Care Center, Berea
Madison Health & Rehabilitation Center, Richmond
If you suspect that you or a loved one has suffered from any form of nursing home malpractice, neglect, or abuse, please contact nursing home abuse attorney in Kentucky, Seth Gladstein, for a free consultation. A Louisville, Kentucky attorney, Seth has the experience to help properly and thoroughly investigate a nursing home negligence, malpractice, or abuse claim, and determine whether you may possibly recover monetary damages. By calling, you can help make nursing home facilities safer for you, your loved ones, and other residents. Seth can be reached at (502) 791-9000.
Read more here:
http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/nurse-accused-of-withholding-medication-from-resident-of-maryville-nursing/article_495cb510-0fe3-11e1-8cf4-001a4bcf6878.html
http://www.skillednursingfacilities.org/directory/il/maryville/manor-court-of-maryville/145728/
