Life Care Center of Hilton Head

When Nursing Homes Don’t Live Up to Their Brochures

The Hughey Law Firm has successfully pursued claims against this facility.

If you have already had a loved one suffer at the hands of the Life Care Center of Hilton Head then contact a nursing home attorney to discuss your legal options. For those considering the Life Care Center of Hilton Head it appears to be the perfect place for an aging loved one in need of rehabilitation services—or perhaps even for you to recover from illness or injury or take care of rehabilitation services. The website lists extensive amenities: a beauty salon, gardens, a library, religious services each week, and even private rooms and bathrooms. The photos show a clean, beautiful facility that seems cheerful and comfortable.

When you dig beneath the surface, however, you discover that Life Care Center of Hilton Head, located at 120 Lamotte Drive, Hilton Head Island, SC, 29926, does not live up to the hype described on the website.

According to U.S. News, Life Care Center of Hilton Head has an average performance rating of worse than average. The for-profit facility has a poor health inspection rating, including quality of food preparation and poor medical care quality—the last thing a potential resident of a rehabilitation facility wants to discover about the nursing home.

Not only that, but also the facility has a considerably higher number of fire safety violations than the state average. It’s inclusion on a federal list of nursing homes with serious quality issues likely comes as little surprise to anyone who has ever visited the facility, either as a resident or the family member of a resident. Remaining on this list may cause the nursing home to lose funding from Medicaid and Medicare.

7 Challenges Presented by Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect

Nursing homes take care of some of America’s most vulnerable citizens: the elderly. Many elderly individuals, including those currently residing at Life Care Center of Hilton Head, need rehabilitation and skilled nursing care services from nursing homes. Failure to provide those services can cause serious health concerns for those elderly patients:

1. Bedsores. Bedsores develop when elderly patients remain in one position for too long. Often, nurses can help decrease the likelihood of bedsores by helping patients change positions as needed. Failure to assist patients in position shifts, on the other hand, can lead to extreme pressure sores that continue to get worse over time.
2. Dehydration. Many elderly patients, especially those with Alzheimer’s or dementia, may forget to drink enough on their own. Others may not have the ability to get water on their own. Dehydration can occur quickly in these patients.
3. Malnutrition. Nursing homes provide food for their residents. For bed-bound residents, that may include delivery straight to their rooms. Other patients may need assistance eating. Failure to ensure that a patient eats properly or failure to deliver food on time can lead to symptoms of malnutrition.
4. Lack of personal hygiene. In a nursing home, nurses may bear responsibility for ensuring that the patient receives adequate personal care, including bathing and deodorant. In a facility where neglect occurs often, patients may clearly lack personal hygiene.
5. Increased risk of injuries. In many cases, especially in rehabilitative facilities, neglect may mean failing to provide enough care to prevent patients’ risk of injuries. Patients may, for example, need two people to help them transfer, or they might need assistance walking or going to the toilet. In a nursing home where abuse occurs, patients may attempt to take care of things alone, raising the risk of injury.
6. Medical conditions going untreated. In addition to monitoring current medical conditions, medical caregivers in a nursing home setting must also keep an eye out for further medical conditions that may develop as the patient resides in the facility. When neglect occurs, those patients may develop further conditions that require treatment. Untreated medical conditions can cause patients to develop more problems or even end in death.
7. Injuries from abuse. When seniors experience abuse in nursing homes, they may suffer serious injuries from that abuse, including broken bones, traumatic brain injury, or soft tissue damage. Abused seniors may also have increased bruising. Sexual abuse or emotional abuse may also cause lasting, long-term issues for senior patients.

What Should You Do if You Suspect Abuse or Neglect?

Do you have a loved one showing common signs of abuse or neglect while residing in a nursing home facility? Has this happened before at this health care facility.  Take action quickly to put a stop to abuse and provide the care your loved one needs.

• Take any accusations or signs of abuse seriously. Some seniors will not admit when they suffer abuse. Others may refer only briefly to those events. Any time your loved one alleges abuse, even if your loved one has Alzheimer’s or dementia, take the accusation seriously. Investigating false allegations of abuse cannot hurt your loved one, but ignoring those accusations can cause serious harm to continue.
• Ask the facility about any signs of abuse or neglect. Speak to a supervisor. Work up the chain until someone takes you seriously if needed. Facility supervisors may help you collect evidence, including video or security footage, feedback from other caregivers in the facility, or even testimonies from other residents. In some cases, reporting abuse or neglect can cause proper attention to fall on neglectful caregivers, keeping all residents of the facility safer.
• Report abuse or neglect to the authorities. Facilities that receive numerous allegations of abuse may end up shut down: the best option for the vulnerable residents who once lived there. Reporting abuse can also help you build your claim against the nursing home or remove doctors, nurses, or employees who abuse or neglect residents.
• Contact an attorney. If you have a loved one who suffered abuse or neglect in a nursing home, your loved one may deserve compensation: coverage for medical bills due to the neglect, payment for a move to a different facility, and even compensation for pain and suffering. Contacting an attorney can help you decide how to proceed moving forward.

Hughey Law’s Nursing Home Neglect and Abuse Attorneys Stand by to Help

If you have a loved one suffering abuse or neglect in a South Carolina nursing home, rehabilitation facility, or assisted living facility, including Life Care Center of Hilton Head, do not wait to seek help. Contact Hughey Law at (843) 881-8644 or through our confidential online contact form as soon as possible to learn how to proceed.

Hughey Law Firm LLC
171 Church Street, Suite 330
Charleston, SC 29401
Phone: 843-881-8644