Tennessee Nursing Homes Receive the Highest Average Fines in America
Tennessee has the dubious honor of being home to five of the twenty most “monetary fined” nursing homes in all of America. This news is likely to be rather unsettling, especially for nursing home residents and their families, because the fines which are assessed to nursing homes result from the results of nursing home inspections and investigations. High fines mean that many deficiencies are being found in Tennessee nursing homes during annual state and federal inspections, as well as investigations which are conducted in response to complaints that are called in by residents or their families.
The types of deficiencies which lead to the fines vary among nursing homes, but perhaps the most alarming thing to note is that some of the deficiencies are related to incidents which resulted in the hospitalization of the residents who were involved. The number of deficiencies for each facility is also rather shocking. For example, a nursing home in Maryville had twenty eight deficiencies and has been fined nearly five hundred and fifty thousand dollars. The deficiencies at that facility were also causing immediate danger to one or more residents. Another facility racked up forty six deficiencies in the year 2011. Fortunately, in 2012, that facility was shut down after losing its contract with the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, or CMS as it is commonly called. The parent company which owned the facility which was closed is building a new nursing home in the area, even as it continues to be embroiled in lawsuits alleging medical neglect, wrongful death, and other acts of wrongdoing.
In case you are wondering what kinds of things are happening at these nursing homes which are causing them to be fined, the overall message is that nursing home residents at some facilities in Tennessee are not getting the care that they need. Things like failing to provide safety equipment to prevent additional falls when a resident has a history of falls and using the wrong ingredients to prepare meals for residents, some of who can become seriously ill if they consume too much salt, sugar, or other substances, are things which simply should not be happening at all. Many deficiencies are a result of chronic understaffing, such as failure to bathe residents as often as they should be bathed and failure to reposition immobile residents often enough to prevent bedsores.
If someone that you love is a resident in a Tennessee nursing home, it is important that you do what you can to check in on them regularly to see whether they are getting the care that they need. If you find that they are not, do not hesitate to notify the nursing home management so that they may remedy the situation. If they fail to remedy the situation, or if your loved one is in danger, it is important that you file a complaint against the nursing home and possibly even relocate your relative to a safer facility. If damage has already been done, consult a Tennessee Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect Attorney to learn about potential causes of action that you may be able to pursue. The caring and compassionate Tennessee nursing home abuse and neglect attorneys at Bailey & Greer, PLLC will sit down with you to learn about your case, explain your options, and help you decide how to proceed. Call us today, at 901-680-9777 to schedule a time to discuss your case. At Bailey & Greer, PLLC, we are small enough to care, big enough to fight, and experienced enough to win.
Since graduating magna cum laude in 2005 from the University of Memphis School of Law, Thomas has helped make a difference in the lives of victims of serious personal injury, wrongful death, and professional negligence. Thomas has extensive trial experience in both state and federal court. Among other victories in the courtroom, Thomas obtained several impressive jury verdicts and settlements
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