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Family sues nursing home after senior falls, dies (09/26/08 Orange County Register) By Rachanee Srisavasdi and Courtney Perkes

Luveda Fern Kessler fell and cut her leg as she got out of bed at her Laguna Hills assisted living apartment.   It was 1:33 a.m. The 83-year-old woman did as she had been told to do: Press a personal emergency response call button.  She waited, bleeding from the two-inch gash. Twenty-four minutes later, at 1:57 a.m., an unidentified staffer at Villa Valencia Health Care Center called 911.  Valencia is owned and operated by Sunrise Senior Living that owns hundreds of for profit nursing homes.

Paramedics arrived at 2:10 a.m. Kessler lay on her stomach, nonresponsive. She was soon pronounced dead at a local hospital. Villa Valencia did not report the incident to the state.  

The Virginia-based company - which runs 445 senior centers internationally - has garnered criticism in two other lawsuits this year over care of residents at Villa Valencia's adjacent nursing home unit.

In one of the cases, a jury in May awarded $2 million to the family of Mary Adams, who died in March 2005 after a brief stay at the center. Lawyers representing the Adams family argued that Villa Valencia was understaffed to give Adams adequate treatment for her pressure ulcers - which lead to her death.

A nurse identified Kessler as being at risk for falls, but she was not given assistance getting out of bed or going to the bathroom.

"My preference would be to have her at my house,'' said Joanne Kessler, who lives in Aliso Viejo. "But I have a condo with a tri-level. There's no way she could handle stairs. I thought, 'It was better than her being alone, back in Seal Beach.' "

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The Star-Telegram reported a verdict in a tragic nursing home case.  The article asserts that Mable Ann Webb didn’t have to die.   Webb entered CLC Richland Hills nursing home for physical therapy. Within two weeks her skin became flushed and clammy. Her eyes turned red, her tongue swelled and she could not speak.

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The Almanac News had an article about a nursing home appealing a fine after a resident's death caused by their inattentiveness and lack of supervision.

During her 10-month stay at Atherton Healthcare nursing home in Menlo Park last year, 51-year-old resident Debra Nickel fell 14 times, including a fall where she suffered a traumatic brain injury. She died several days later.  State investigators have determined that the nursing home staff is at fault for Ms. Nickel's death.  The facility was fined $100,000 for the neglect which is the most severe citation possible.

The Department of Public Health concluded that Atherton Healthcare staff was inattentive in caring for Ms. Nickel, who was known to be at risk for falls. The facility was hit with an "AA" citation the most severe citation under state standards.  "The facility failed to identify and continuously assess, evaluate and update the resident's needs and plan of care to prevent further falls and injuries," according to the report.

Nana Cocachvili, executive director of Atherton Healthcare, located at 1275 Crane St., said the nursing home is appealing the decision, and that Ms. Nickel's falls were "unavoidable."

Ms. Nickel died Dec. 1, a week after staff member noticed a "deep lacerated wound" on the patient's head most probably from an "unwitnessed fall," according to the report. The staff member informed a nursing home physician, who stated that Ms. Nickel "does not need to be sent out for stitches because scalp wounds heal easily," the report says.  The staff member notified a second physician, who recommended Ms. Nickel be taken to the emergency room, where she was admitted three hours later with high blood pressure and a heart rate of 128 beats per minute, the report says.

The San Mateo County Coroner's Office confirmed Ms. Nickel died Dec. 1 of swelling of the brain and brain hemorrhages caused by blunt trauma.

The citation linked to Ms. Nickel's death isn't the only Department of Public Health claim Atherton Healthcare is currently fighting.   In April, the state fined the nursing home $20,000 following an investigation into the Oct. 28 death of a 79-year-old man who fell backwards off a wheelchair lift.

The patient, Menlo Park resident Charles Ladeau, suffered major head trauma when he fell while being lifted into a van, and died shortly after the fall.  The incident exposed the fact that Atherton Healthcare was outsourcing the driving of patients to off-site appointments through a private company without a formal contract, and without "written standards how transportation services should be provided," according to the reports.

Ms. Cocachvili said Atherton Healthcare has appealed that decision too, and she argued the blame should lie on the transportation provider whose employee was supervising the patient when he fell, not the nursing home.   however, the nursing home cannot delegate care to a third party.  The nursing home is the health care provider who is ultimately responsible for the care provided to their residents.

In 2005, the facility changed ownership and was known as Canaan Healthcare. The current owners took over in early 2007 and the name switched to Atherton Healthcare.

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