Generations at Lincoln
When you entrust the care of a family member to a nursing home or other elder care facility, the facility becomes responsible for preventing any harm from coming to them at the hands of staff. Nursing homes can do this by performing thorough background checks into new hires, implementing policies for the safe care of residents, providing comprehensive training of all staff, and establishing easy procedures for filing complaints.
When all of these practices are followed to the best of employees’ abilities, it creates a safe environment for nursing home residents where abuse and neglect are rare and promptly put a stop to. Unfortunately, as most US nursing homes are for-profit businesses, they often cut corners and relax their standards in these areas, putting their residents at risk for both accidental and intentional abuse and neglect.
When those individuals who are in charge of the day to day operations of a nursing home fail to cover all their bases and set an example of good ethics and responsibility, it becomes too easy for more junior employees to become lax too, and they are the ones doing most of the caregiving for residents. That’s when mistakes get made, important tasks get forgotten or ignored, or predatory staff abuse residents. This is often what happens in the nightmare nursing homes you may have seen in the news or heard rumors about.
So, what can you do to ensure that isn’t how things play out when you have a relative in need of assisted living care? Being responsible for choosing a nursing home can be a daunting task when you’re worried about picking one that ends up hurting your loved one. Luckily Levin & Perconti are here to help. As experts in nursing home abuse law, we’ve seen the worst side of nursing homes.
If you are concerned about how to protect a family member from abuse and neglect in assisted living, we have some tips for you.
First, pick a highly rated nursing home facility. You can find one by looking up the ratings and health inspection results that Medicare publishes on medicare.org. This information gives you an unbiased look at how well a nursing home is functioning. The goal is to identify a nursing home that not only offers the services your family member needs but demonstrates a safe environment by having a good Medicare rating and relatively clean health inspection report.
Second, look for signs that the nursing home is abusing or neglecting your relative. This means visiting often enough that you can check on their well-being and familiarizing yourself with the signs of nursing home abuse. Some of these signs include:
- Untreated severe bedsores
- Unexplained injuries like bruises, burns, or scars
- Weight loss or malnourishment not due directly to an illness
- Frequent trips to the emergency room or doctor
- Wrong type or the wrong amount of medication administered
- Poor hygiene or unwashed clothes or hair
- Instances of wandering or elopement
- Frequently misplaced or lost personal items
- A lack of basic necessities, including utilities, water, and food
- A dirty room or bathroom
- Frequent trouble sleeping
- Unusual violent or depressed behavior
- Signs of trauma like rocking back and forth
Finally, be prepared to report suspected abuse. You do not have to have proof of abuse to express concern or file a grievance. If you see signs that your family member is suffering, report it to the nursing home so they can fix the situation. It is helpful to have documentation, but do not wait to be sure that something is going on. Follow the facility’s complaint process and talk to a staff supervisor or facility administrator. They should investigate the situation and report it to the correct authorities. They should also act to prevent further harm.
Levin & Perconti understands the confusion and tragedy surrounding nursing home abuse. That’s why we are so honored every time a new client comes to us for help in their time of need. It’s also why we are happy to share these tips for you, as well as information taken straight from medicare.org so families researching Illinois nursing homes, such as Generations at Lincoln, can more easily find the information they need to select a reputable nursing home for their family members and rest a little easier knowing they’ve made the best possible decision.
About Generations at Lincoln
2202 N Kickapoo St.
Lincoln, IL 62656
(217) 735-1538
Generations at Lincoln is a rehabilitation & post-acute care facility with 126 Medicaid-certified beds for long- and short-term residents. The facility’s services include 24-skilled and intermediate nursing, short-term rehabilitation, parenteral nutrition care, wound care, respiratory care and oxygen therapy, ventilator care, palliative care, and hospice services.
Medicare gives Generations at Lincoln a disappointing Much Below Average overall rating thanks to its Much Below Average health inspection rating, Below Average staffing rating, and Average quality measures rating.
For more details into the quality of care at this facility, medicare.org has published the latest health inspection report for this location. Below is a sample of this report.
10/29/2018 Failure to honor the resident’s right to a dignified existence, self-determination, communication, and to exercise his or her rights. The facility failed to ensure a resident’s clothes were free from tears to prevent exposure and maintain dignity. The resident complained that his pants had a large tear in the inseam of his pants that exposed himself inappropriately. He had asked for a needle to sew them as he couldn’t afford new pants. Staff forgot to ask if he could have a needle and no one offered to fix them for him.
10/29/2018 Failure to protect each resident from all types of abuse such as physical, mental, sexual abuse, physical punishment, and neglect by anybody. The facility failed to protect two residents from mental abuse and fear of retaliation. A resident complained that she was not allowed to smoke outside unsupervised like before management changed and that the new administrator told her she would be discharged and not able to collect her belongings or call for a ride if she did not follow the new rules. A second resident was smoking outside when the administrator told her to go inside and pack up to leave for breaking smoking rules. The resident asked for help from a medical director who told her the administrator could not kick her out, but the resident remained fearful of retaliation.
10/29/2018 Failure to protect each resident from the wrongful use of the resident’s belongings or money. The facility failed to prevent misappropriation of 14 residents’ funds. A human resource director had allowed a resident to withdraw money from a facility-managed resident account even though the resident had no money of their own in the account. This practice led to other residents’ accounts to be negative. One resident was asked by the human resource director to not tell anyone of this. One resident complained that at that time their money was still unaccounted for.
10/29/2018 Failure to provide safe, appropriate pain management for a resident who requires such services. Staff failed to provide pain management for a resident while treating multiple pressure wounds even though the resident was showing signs of pain. The non-verbal resident was grimacing and making distressed expressions while receiving wound care. A nurse tried to reassure the resident and admitted to not knowing if the resident had received prescribed pain killer that day. The wound nurse admitted she had not given the resident medication for her pain that day.
Don’t Wait to Get Help
If you or a family member have experienced abuse at Generations at Lincoln or another Illinois nursing home, don’t put off getting help any longer. The experienced attorneys at Levin & Perconti are here for you. We’ll use our knowledge of nursing home abuse law to fight for your rights and win the resolution you desire. You don’t have to do this alone. Click or call Levin & Perconti at 888-424-5757 today for a free consultation. We take calls at all hours of the day and night.
Disclaimer: The above health inspection findings are taken from public records kept and published by Medicare and the state of Illinois and are not complete. Levin & Perconti cannot confirm that this page’s content includes the latest information available. Any corrections or additions made to these public records after publication of this page will not be found here. For the most up-to-date information, visit www.il.gov or medicare.gov. This page is a legal advertisement and informational resource for visitors and is not endorsed by the named facility or any government agency. Levin & Perconti does not have any affiliation with the named facility.
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Not only were they so professional but also so caring and thoughtful. It was very difficult going over the facts in our mother's case but they were so compassionate and understanding and allowed us to be with them every step of the way. We were able to sit in on the depositions and we were really able to see how hard they worked on our behalf.
Contact Us
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Notable Results
VERDICT
on behalf of an 85-year-old woman injured in a nursing home when her medications were mismanaged.
VERDICT
for the estate of a 67-year-old man who died from complications related to a fall
SETTLEMENT
for a 59-year-old resident who developed multiple painful and infected bedsores which took four years to heal.
Generations Facilities
Our Office
325 N LaSalle Dr Suite 300
Chicago, IL 60654
312-332-2872
