Elder Law

Illinois Nursing Home Violation: Ambassador Nursing and Rehabilitation Center

By Levin & Perconti

One of the Chicago nursing homes cited in the last issued report for care violations by the Illinois Department of Public Health was the Columbus Manor Residential Care Home, located on the 4900 block of North Bernard. The nursing home was charged with several Type ?A? Violations from the Illinois department and was fined $10,000. The citations stemmed from the physical abuse of a resident by a staff member.

An employee at the facility apparently became enraged by one resident, leading to the abuse. The employee was putting a belt on a resident who was a quadriplegic who was suffering from a spinal cord injury. The victim mentioned to the staff member that the belt was too tight. It was at that point that the employee surprisingly slapped the resident in the face. The employee then began choking the resident while she was in her wheelchair, almost tipping the chair over. The entire event was witnessed by another resident and the sister of the resident who happened to be visiting at the time.

The abusive employee eventually left the room, leaving the victim alone and crying. The employee admitted to slapping the resident, but said somewhat incoherently that it was necessary to get the resident away from her. Even after this incident, the facility failed to remove the abusive employee from the facility immediately. Instead she was allowed to get into contact with a few other residents before police eventually were called in to handle the battery allegations.

Full post as published by Illinois Nursing Home Abuse Blog on December 20, 2010 (boomark / email).