The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) found that the Countryview Home in Tolono, Illinois was guilty of nursing home neglect after one of their residents successfully ingested a jelly packet, numerous coins, and nuts and bolts.
The IDPH found that the Countryview Home failed to provide enough safeguards to prevent the ingestion of foreign substances. Since his arrival at the facility, the resident required numerous emergency services after ingesting foreign objects.
One of the stranger disorders that a nursing home is likely to have to develop a treatment for is Pica. Pica is a disorder characterized by the ingestion of nonnutritive products. In other words, people with Pica disorder will eat, and attempt to eat, just about anything that isn’t food.
Hair, dirt, stones, spoons, rocks, nails, toothpaste caps, grass, wood, and string are all common items swallowed by people with Pica disorder. For some sufferers with this disorder, only a certain type of non-food product is attractive. For others, sadly, just about any product will do.
Needless to say, Pica is a deadly disorder. One patient allegedly swallowed almost 2,000 foreign objects. She died during surgery to remove some of the ingested objects.
For nursing homes, providing care to a resident with a complicated disorder like Pica is a complicated procedure. However, the fact that the disorder is rare does not alter their obligation to provide that competent, quality care.
If you have a loved one in an Illinois nursing home who is not receiving the treatment they need regardless of medical condition, you may be able to pursue legal action to get them the care they need.
Our Chicago nursing home lawyers offer a free and confidential evaluation to anyone who feels their loved one has been the victim of neglect in an Illinois nursing home.