A recent inspection of the Manorcare of South Holland nursing home in South Holland, Illinois reveals that residents of the facility are left for hours in pain and without access to water on a regular basis. It’s the kind of report that should serve as a wake up call for anyone with a loved one in a nursing home.
A resident at Manorcare reported back pain for six days. On the sixth day, the resident’s daughter called her doctor to report her mother’s condition. The doctor ordered the resident to be transported to the hospital by ambulance. Upon arrival, the Manorcare resident was reported to be severely dehydrated. She had complained to the nursing home inspector that she was rarely given water.
I suppose it bears stating that nursing home residents are not supposed to live their lives in constant pain. No one is. When a resident informs staff of pain, the staff are supposed to take actions to identify the source and remove it. If they cannot determine the problem, they need to notify the resident’s physician so that he or she can determine the next course of action. Typically, this is a hospital visit.
The nurses on duty had no explanation for their failure to notify the resident’s family or physician despite days of pain.
The nursing home inspector reviewing the facility found that ignoring pain levels was not a unique event. The inspector found one resident screaming in pain. The call light, supposed to always be within an arm’s reach, was on the floor.
The investigation also revealed that response to call light signals from residents was exceedingly slow. Waiting an hour was not unusual. Residents stated that even during the nights, call lights required 1/2 hour or more for help to arrive.
If you have a loved one in an Illinois nursing home, it’s important that you regularly check on your loved one’s daily charts for fluid intake. As this inspection report showed, sometimes nursing home staff simply ignore the distress of residents in their care. Dehydration and malnutrition are the result.
At the Law Offices of Barry G. Doyle, we offer a free and confidential consultation for anyone who feels they have a loved one who has been the victim of nursing home neglect or nursing home abuse.