Willow Park Convalescent Home

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Ohio Department of Health, inspect all the nursing homes in Ohio on a regular basis to determine if they are providing the quality of care that Medicare and Medicaid require in order to protect and improve residents' health and safety. When nursing homes do not meet CMS' healthcare or fire and safety standards, these instances are cited as deficiencies and CMS requires the problems to be corrected.

A minority of nursing homes throughout the country have more problems than other nursing homes, more serious problems than other nursing homes, and a pattern of serious problems that are persistent over a long period of time. As a result, CMS maintains a list of what they call Special Focus Facilities. These are nursing homes that have a history of serious quality issues and are included in a special program to stimulate improvements in their quality of care.

Is The Willow Park Convalescent Home a Special Focus Facility?

The Willow Park Convalescent Home appears on Table D of the Special Focus Facility List. The Willow Park Convalescent Home is located at 18810 Harvard Avenue in Cleveland, Ohio 44122. It is a nursing home that has 135 beds. So it is a relatively large nursing home. It currently has a rating of 2 stars out of 5 overall. It has a rating of 1 star out of 5 for health inspections. It has a rating of 1 star out of 5 for staffing.

The Willow Park Convalescent Home is part of the Embassy Healthcare chain of nursing homes. It has received multiple penalties in the last 3 years including a penalty of $222,385.00 on September 28, 2023; $82,615.00 on November 1, 2022; $994.00 on April 4, 2022; $650.00 on September 13, 2021 and $73,500.00 on February 18, 2021. When a nursing home receives a serious health or fire safety citation or fails to correct a citation for a long period of time, this can result in a penalty. A penalty can be a fine against the nursing home or a denied payment from Medicare. According to the medicare.gov website, the Willow Park Convalescent Home has received payment denials on September 28, 2023, November 1, 2022 and February 18, 2021.

Issues Identified at The Willow Park Convalescent Home

The Ohio Department of Health surveys nursing homes on an annual basis and in response to complaints. According to a survey that was conducted on September 28, 2023 of the Willow Park Convalescent Home, based on a review of records, interviews with staff, and a self-reported incident form review, and a review of the nursing home policies, the nursing home failed to prevent resident-on-resident abuse.

According to the survey, one of the residents assaulted another resident. This resident continued to walk into other residents' rooms and threatened to hit the staff. Despite being sent out to the emergency room, the resident returned to the facility with no new orders. This resident hit another resident in the face.

Another resident who was also known to be aggressive slapped and choked a female resident. The nursing home was also cited for an incident involving one of the residents suffering a fall. That resident later died in the nursing home.

The nursing home was also cited for actual harm based on a resident who was dependent on the staff for bed mobility. That resident was observed to have an unstageable suspected deep tissue injury. Following the development of the ulcer, the area declined to a Stage 4 pressure ulcer with odor noted with recommendations for hospitalization and possible amputation.

Resident-on-Resident Abuse

Resident-on-resident abuse is an extremely significant issue. Here at The Dickson Firm, we have represented many families whose loved one has been the victim of assault either by staff or other residents. In a case where one resident assaults another, sometimes the assailant is cognitively intact and simply assaults the other resident intentionally. However, often, the assailant is demented. They have Alzheimer's disease or they have some other cognitive impairment. They don't even really know what they're doing. The assailant does not know what they're doing. The nursing home has a duty to each of its residents to thoroughly assess those residents, determine their needs, and then develop a comprehensive care plan that addresses their needs. In the case of a resident who has cognitive impairment, whether dementia, Alzheimer's disease, or any other issue, the nursing home has a duty to thoroughly assess that resident and provide them with the care that they need, including, if necessary, psychiatric care and evaluation, and possibly medication. Oftentimes, a resident who is aggressive or violent is every bit as much of a victim as the other residents or the other staff who they assault.

The Nursing Home has a duty to provide for the needs of the aggressive resident as well as to protect all of the residents and the staff in the nursing home. Nursing homes have a legal duty in Ohio under the Ohio Nursing Home Residents Bill of Rights to provide their residents with a safe environment. They have a legal duty under the Code of Federal Regulations, the federal law promulgated by the federal legislature, to provide their residents with adequate supervision. It is improper to allow a resident to assault other residents.

It is likewise improper for the nursing home to hire people that have violent tendencies, or have been cited for abuse in the past, or to permit their staff to assault or injure their residents.

Contact a Compassionate and Skilled Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect Attorney

If someone you love has been neglected or abused in a nursing home, please call us at The Dickson Firm at 1-800-OHIO-LAW as we will be happy to help you in any way that we can. If someone you love has been neglected or abused at the Willow Park Convalescent Home, please call us here at The Dickson Firm as we will be happy to help you. We have handled many cases against the Willow Park Convalescent Home and it would be our pleasure to talk with you and help you in any way that we can. One of the benefits of hiring an experienced attorney, who has been handling nursing home cases for many years, is that often that attorney already has a quantity of information about the nursing home where your loved one was neglected or abused. We here at The Dickson Firm have sued hundreds of nursing homes throughout the State of Ohio. We have taken thousands of depositions. We often have a quantity of information about the nursing home where your loved one was neglected or abused.

It would be our pleasure to put our experience to work for you.