A Colorado jury has awarded $375,000 the the family of a deceased nursing home resident.  The family of Doris Wolf brought a lawsuit against Spring Healthcare Center and Sava Senior Care, the parent company for injuries she sustained in a fall while a resident at the facility.

According to the Colorado Department of Public Health, Ms. Wolf was admitted to Spring Healthcare Center for rehabilitation following surgery on her back.  The day Ms. Wolf was to go home, she fell in the bathroom.  Apparently, Ms. Wolf used her call button to ask the nursing home staff for assistance in using the toilet.  After not receiving any response, Ms. Wolf used the bathroom unassisted and fell.  When Wolfe thought an "extended amount of time passed" and no one answered her request, she opted to try to walk toward her walker on her own and broke her ankle. 

The health department investigation also indicated that Spring Creek X-rayed Wolfe's ankle and found no fracture, but a family physician looked at the X-ray results and determined it was fractured in two places.  Similar incidents has occurred in the past.  According to the Colorado Health Department, another resident at Spring Creek Health Center was denied help going to the bathroom in February.

"The resident put on her call light and when staff responded, asked for assistance with toileting," the report reads. "The staff member told her s/he didn't have time to assist her and she would have to wet the bed. Another staff member assisted the resident."

The staff at Spring Creek are doing their job.  The nursing home staff must timely respond to calls for help and provide assistance to those who require it.  Under-staffing probably also plays a large role in these incidents.  If a resident needs to use the toilet should they be forced to suffer the indignity of soiling themselves because the there is inadequate staff or they are not attending to their needs?

Sava Senior Care owns approximately 185 nursing homes across the country, including Spring Creek and Fort Collins Health Care Center.  Sava operates the following facilities in Illinois:

Montebello HealthCare Center
1599 Keokuk Street
Hamilton, IL 62341

Nature Trail Health Care Center
1001 South 34Th Street
Mount Vernon, IL 62864

Odin HealthCare Center
300 Green Street
Odin, IL 62870

Westchester Health and Rehabilitation Center
2901 S Wolf Road
Westchester, IL 60154

Read more about this case of nursing home neglect here.

Related:

Nursing Home Injury Laws: Colorado