Recent investigations of the Champaign County Nursing Home in Urbana, Illinois revealed that the facility has
committed numerous, ongoing health code violations. In specific, both
the Illinois Department of Public Health and the Champaign-Urbana Public
Health District have discovered a number of issues in the facility
related to sanitation, food storage, and resident diet during the time
period from January of 2012 to April of 2013.
Perhaps
the most surprising of the violations relates to the food served to the
residents in the facility. On multiple occasions, investigations
revealed the facility served residents food containing small pieces of
plastic or cardboard. In
the most severe instance, the "fingertip to knuckle" portion of a
plastic glove was discovered in meat served to a resident. The wife of a
resident who received food with cardboard in it reported that the
facility has served her husband food containing foreign objects on a
number of occasions.
With
respect to sanitation, a December 12, 2012 inspection revealed soiled
interior oven racks and a soiled can opener blade in the facility's
kitchen. In addition, inspectors discovered that a water heater was not
operating properly. As a result, water in the dishwasher failed to reach
180 degrees which is necessary to properly sanitize the residents'
dishes. Regarding
food storage, an April 11, 2013 inspection revealed that the facility
maintained a walk-in cooler at a temperature above 41 degrees, rendering
it too warm for safe food storage. In addition, a number of dry storage
racks were soiled and dirty.
Inspections
also revealed a number of violations related to residents' diets. On
numerous occasions, the facility failed to serve residents items listed
on the the daily menu or provided residents with only a partial serving
of a menu item. In addition, the facility failed to provide "health
shakes" between meals to a seriously ill patient who had suffered an 8
percent body weight loss in a single month and also failed to provide
the patient with full servings of a lunch menu item.
The
Champaign County Nursing Home's health violations are incredibly
dangerous to its residents and expose its residents to a number
potential health threats. Many nursing home residents are already in a
compromised state of health when they enter a nursing facility. When a
nursing home agrees to house an elderly resident, it also agrees to
avoid unnecessarily harming the resident. When unnecessary harm occurs
as a result of issues such as the health violations committed by the Champaign County Nursing Home,
the facility may be responsible for the harm resulting to its
residents. The Attorneys at Keating Law Offices have represented a
number of nursing home residents who have been injured or harmed as a
result of improper nursing home care.
If you
have a question about this post, or any other issue related to Illinois
personal injury law, please contact Mike Keating at Keating Law Offices
by calling 312-208-7702 or emailing MKeating@
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