The lawsuit claims that Phyllis Hale was injured and died on February 8, 2020, as a result of Crown Ohio Holdco Inc.’s persistent understaffing and profiteering. Due to the lack of care provided by Villa Georgetown Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center, which resulted in Stage 4 skin wounds (pressure ulcers or “bedsores”) and infection.

According to the lawsuit that Crown Ohio Holdco Inc.’s systemic understaffing, inadequate training, and poor management of its Villa Georgetown Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center facility resulted in poor care for resident Phyllis Hale, who suffered from: Skin wounds (pressure ulcers or bedsores), infections of those wounds, systemic inflammation and organ damage from sepsis, and failing to respond to call lights for Phyllis Hale and other residents in a timely manner.

The lawsuit can be found here.

Systemic Understaffing at Villa Georgetown Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center

The federal agency that oversees the operations of nursing homes receiving federal or state funding, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, or “Medicare,” requires every nursing home receiving Medicare or Medicaid funding, including those at issue in this case, to report significant amounts of data to the federal agency that oversees the operations of nursing homes receiving federal or state funding, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, or “Medicare.”

The lawsuit alleges that:

Defendants in this case have control over decisions that affect the day-to-day care of Villa Georgetown residents, such as the resources available for providing nursing staff and care to residents like Phyllis Hale, which means they are liable for any foreseeable harm caused by careless decisions made while voluntarily exercising that control.

Because the nursing staff is overworked and unable to provide needed care to all residents, such as turning and positioning (which can lead to bedsores and infections), changing incontinent residents (which can lead to bedsores and infections), toileting residents (which can lead to increased falls and other issues), and assisting residents with eating and drinking (which can lead to dehydration, malnutrition, choking, and other complications), this systemic understaffing leads to poor outcomes.

Defendants failed to guarantee that Villa Georgetown was adequately staffed, well managed, and staff well trained to fulfill the particular needs of Phyllis Hale through their operational, budgetary, consultative, and managerial decisions and actions.

Defendants engaged in a systemic practice of understaffing their nursing home facility in order to maximize profits at the expense of the care of their residents.

Phyllis Hale did not receive basic and necessary services as a result of a shortage of employees, bad management, and inadequate training, which resulted in, among other things, negligence resulting to injuries and death.

Misleading Advertising

The lawsuit alleges that:

Defendants’ systemic understaffing, inadequate training, and poor management of its Villa Georgetown Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center facility led to poor care of its resident, Phyllis Hale, causing her to suffer from, among other things:

a. Skin wounds (pressure ulcers or bedsores) from lack of repositioning and turning, failure to provide timely and adequate assessments, failure to provide timely and adequate perineal care, failure to maintain clean and dry skin, failure to treat, and failure to timely obtain wound care;

b. Infections of those wounds from inadequate cleanliness and wound care;

c. Systemic inflammation and organ damage from sepsis, a life threatening

condition that arises when the body’s response to infection causes injury to its own tissues and organs, caused by those infections;

d. Failing to respond to call lights for Phyllis Hale and other residents

in a timely way.”

While a resident of Villa Georgetown, Phyllis Hale was left soiled and was refused care by Defendants’ staff. 

Defendants’ staff ignored Phyllis Hale’s call light and passed off much of her care responsibilities to her visiting family.

Phyllis Hale was allowed to develop multiple bedsores while a resident at Villa Georgetown and had to be hospitalized twice to treat these.

Phyllis Hale developed stage four bedsore(s) on her hip in which bone was exposed, as well as four wounds above her buttocks (including one stage-three and three stage-two). Each of these wounds was allowed to become infected by Defendants’ staff.

Staffing Ratings

According to the lawsuit, on Medicare’s Nursing Home Compare, Villa Georgetown had a 2-star (“Below Average”) rating for staffing.

Registered Nurse Staffing

According to the lawsuit, “Despite this information, Defendants intentionally understaff the facilities to make more money, with the predictable outcome being increased preventable resident injuries and deaths from things like falls, dehydration, malnutrition, bedsores (pressure ulcers), and infections like urinary tract infections and sepsis. The facility reported more residents and less staff to account for those residents than both the National and Ohio averages. The number of nursing hours per resident per day for the facility was significantly less than the National and Ohio averages as a result of this understaffing.

What’s the Purpose of a Nursing Home Wrongful Death Lawsuit?

The family has filed a wrongful death case against the parent business, Crown Ohio Holdco Inc. On behalf of the surviving family members, a wrongful death action is filed in Ohio. By initiating this lawsuit, the family aims to raise awareness about nursing home mistreatment and prevent future injury to nursing home residents.

Who is Crown Ohio Holdco Inc.

They are dedicated to offering excellence in care & quality of life, according to their website. Their peaceful surroundings make it the ideal spot to call home. Whether you’re staying with them or recovering from a stroke, surgery, or sickness before returning home, they provide customized care and programming tailored to your specific needs. The following is a list of all Crown Ohio Holdco Inc. subsidiaries.

• Troy Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center
  512 Crescent Dr, Troy,
  OH 45373

• The Heights Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center
  2801 E Royalton Rd,
  Broadview Heights, OH 44147
  
• Swanton Valley Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center
  401 W Airport
  Hwy, Swanton, OH 43558

• New Lebanon Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center
  101 Mills Pl,
  New Lebanon, OH 45345