Troubled West Palm Beach, Florida Nursing Home is Racking Up Fines
Azalea Court, a nursing home in West Palm Beach, Florida, is accruing fines left and right. An August, 2008, report shows that a resident was found hurt on the floor of the nursing home. Maggots crawling out of the resident's leg cast. The resident had been admitted to the nursing facility with a detailed care plan which included instructions that the cast and the wound needed to be changed and cleaned every three days. According to reports, Azalea Court could not provide adequate records detailing their care of the cast and wound and could only provide documented proof that they cared for the wound about once a week.
In April, 2008 a state inspector was making a routine visit to the facility, when he found a resident who was a bilateral amputee, outside, asleep with a smoldering cigarette burning a hole into a towel that was covering his left stump. According to this inspector, there was smoke rising from the hole in the towel and the edge of the hole was still burning bright red. The resident had been labeled a safe smoker despite the fact that he had been found previously with a lit cigarette in his mouth and he was fast asleep. The resident was also found to have bedsores covering his amputated limbs and buttocks. The State had initially fined the nursing home $41,000 for both incidents but a settlement was later reached.
The nursing home only had to pay $16,000.
South Carolina attorney Michael Jeffcoat devotes much of his practice of law to representing the victims of nursing home neglect and abuse, and their families. For help, call 1-800-827-7898.
