Resident Breaks Hip During Shower Fall at Champaign Urbana Nursing & Rehab

An Aide at the Champaign Urbana Nursing and Rehab Center was fired from her job after a nursing home resident she was helping to shower fell from the shower bench she was seated on and broke her hip.

The resident who fell was diagnosed with dementia and idiopathic scoliosis. Scoliosis is a spinal deformity. Many of these conditions are progressive, meaning that they get worse and worse over the years. Treating them is difficult to say the least.

The plan of care for the resident is extensive assists with transfers and a reclining shower seat to be used while bathing. Instead, the Aide attempted to shower the resident with a shower bench that did not have a back. While receiving the shower, the resident fell and broke her hip.

This seems like a nursing home fall caused directly by a single aide going against nursing home policy. Indeed, there is simply no good reason to attempt to bathe a resident unless you have the necessary equipment. However, the Illinois Department of Public Health investigation revealed that there was only a single shower chair available for that floor. The nursing home has almost 150 residents.

A shower chair with a back can be purchased for about $40. Reclining shower chair are more expensive, ranging from a few hundred dollars to a thousand or more. Regardless, having a single piece of equipment when multiple residents require the use of that equipment puts a tremendous strain on staff members.

According to Medicare.gov, the Champaign Urbana Nursing and Rehab Center is grossly understaffed. The facility received only 1 star out of five for staffing as well as overall rating.

If you have a loved one who has been injured in a nursing home fall, contact our lawyers for a free and confidential evaluation of your case. At my law offices we never charge a fee unless we earn a recovery for you.