Death from falls and systemic neglect. That’s what a lawsuit filed by Eadie Hill Trial Lawyers claims. On August 4, 2017 Myrtle Brooks fell and broke her hip at Wyant Woods Care Center. She died a week later. The Summit County Medical Examiner, Lisa Kohler, M.D., concluded that her death was caused by the fall and broken hip.
An Akron family claims their mother died from systemic neglect at Wyant Woods Care Center. Photo credit: communicarehealth.com
According to the lawsuit, this was not the first time Myrtle Brooks fell at Wyant Woods. Rather, she fell dozens of times due to understaffing and neglect. Myrtle suffered dementia. Dementia is a condition that affects memory and cognition in older adults. Several million older Americans have some form of dementia.
Dementia can cause people to fall because they don’t understand their limitations and sometimes will attempt to do things–like walk–that are not safe for them. It is critical that nursing homes that accept dementia patients have the staff needed to supervise residents and prevent injuries.
You can read the lawsuit here.
Systemic Understaffing at Wyant Woods
Nursing homes receive money from Medicare. As a result, “Wyant Woods is required to report significant amounts of data to the federal agency that oversees operations of nursing homes receiving federal or state funding, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, or ‘Medicare.’ ”
The lawsuit alleges that:
Defendants failed to ensure, through their operational, budgetary, consultation and managerial decisions and actions, that Wyant Woods was sufficiently staffed to meet the individual needs of Myrtle Brooks.
Defendants engaged in a systemic practice to understaff its nursing home facility to maximize its profits at the expense of its residents’ care.
This lack of sufficient staff directly resulted in Myrtle Brooks not receiving basic and necessary services to prevent, among other things, neglect leading to repeated falls between June 2016 and August 2017, including the last fall on August 4, 2017 that caused her to break her femur and die.
Misleading Advertising
The lawsuit alleges that Wyant Woods and its parent company–Communicare–mislead potential customers about the levels of services it is capable of providing to residents. The lawsuit states, that “[i]n an effort to persuade the families of patients with memory care disorders to become customers, Defendants make promises to the families of such potential residents that they will provide a level of care that they know they are incapable of providing.”
The lawsuit goes on to state the following:
For example, Defendants state on their website the following information:
“Wyant Woods Care Center offers person-centered memory care to Akron residents through our Connections memory care program. Our specially-trained staff are Certified Connections Practitioners who help residents reconnect with their past, present and to the things and people they know and love through stimulating activities aligned to their particular needs. Connections was designed by leading experts in the industry with evidence-based practices that provide the highest quality of life for residents.” http://www.communicarehealth.com/facility/wyant-woods-care-center/
However, the lawsuit alleges that Wyant Woods does not inform its residents or their families of the following issues relating to staffing.
Staffing Ratings
Wyant Woods is a 1-star facility according to Medicare’s staffing ratings, meaning that it has the worst rating for nursing care staffing possible.
Registered Nurse Staffing
The national and state average for registered nursing time available in a particular day for each resident is 51 and 50 minutes, respectively. This means that for the average nursing home facility in Ohio or across the country, if you take the total amount of hours registered nurses are paid to work during a given day and divide that time by the number of residents in the facility, there would be approximately 50 minutes of time registered nurses could spend with each resident per day.
But at Wyant Woods there is only on average 31 minutes of registered nursing time available per day for each resident.
The amount of registered nursing time available at Wyant Woods Manor is actually less than 31 minutes per resident each day because these figures take into account all time nurses are being paid—including breaks, vacations, holidays, and personal time off—and is not limited to the time they are actually at Wyant Woods Care Center providing nursing care.
Nursing Assistant and Aide Staffing
Wyant Woods also falls far short in the amount of nursing assistant or aide time available for its residents. The national and state average for nursing assistant or nursing aide time per resident is 2 hours and 27 minutes (national) and 2 hours and 17 minutes (Ohio) per day. This means that if you take the total amount of time all nursing assistants or aides worked per day and divided it by the total number of nursing home residents in the facility, the state and national average is close to two-and-a-half hours of nursing assistant / aide time available for each resident per day.
But at Wyant Woods there is only 1 hour and 38 minutes of available nursing assistant / aide time available per resident per day—approximately half the national average.
In addition to having severely deficient staffing levels, Defendants also fail to mention that the amount they pay those staff members is nearly 30-40% less than the industry average meaning not only is Wyant Woods severely understaffed, the available staff is underpaid and overburdened.
Not only is Wyant Woods understaffed, it has approximately twice as many residents to care for as comparable facilities. Wyant Woods resident census—the number of beds occupied in the facility—is 161 residents and is more than double the Ohio average (76.9 residents) and nearly double the national average (85.3 residents).
The lawsuit claims that “[t]he intent and outcome of this misleading practice is to cause residents, their families, and external care providers to believe the nursing facility is much better staffed than it is.”
What’s the Purpose of a Nursing Home Wrongful Death Lawsuit?
The family has instituted suit against Wyant Woods and Communicare, the parent company, for wrongful death. A wrongful death lawsuit in Ohio is brought on behalf of the surviving family members. The family hopes that this lawsuit will bring awareness to mistreatment at nursing homes and will prevent future injuries to nursing homes residents.
The family has hired nursing home abuse and neglect lawyers Michael Hill and William Eadie of Eadie Hill Trial Lawyers.
Who is Communicare?
According to its website, Communcare owns, runs, and manages rehabilitation centers, nursing homes, and assisted living facilities throughout Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Indiana, Missouri, Virginia, and Maryland. A complete list of all Communicare facilities is at the bottom of this article.
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- Addison Healthcare Center
8055 Addison Rd SE
Masury, OH 44438
Telephone: 330-448-2547
Fax: 877-259-5073
- Advanced Healthcare Center
955 Garden Lake Pkwy
Toledo, OH 43614
Telephone: 419-382-2200
Fax: 419-381-8508
- Advanced Specialty Hospitals of Toledo
1015 Garden Lake Pkwy
Toledo, OH 43614
Telephone: 419-381-0037
Fax: 419-381-3990
- Allison Pointe Healthcare Center
5226 E 82nd St
Indianapolis, IN 46250
Telephone: 317-842-6668
Fax: 317-578-4113
- Anchorage Healthcare Center
105 Time Sq
Salisbury, MD 21801
Telephone: 410-749-2474
Fax: 410-749-6579
- Austintown Healthcare Center
650 S Meridian Rd
Youngstown, OH 44509
Telephone: 330-792-7799
Fax: 877-403-169
- Baldwin Health Center
1717 Skyline Dr
Pittsburgh, PA 15227
Telephone: 412-885-8400
Fax: 412-885-0772
- Battlefield Park Healthcare Center
250 Flank Rd
Petersburg, VA 23805
Telephone: 804-861-2223
Fax: 804-861-8643
- Bel Pre Health and Rehabilitation Center
2601 Bel Pre Rd
Silver Spring, MD 20906
Telephone: 301-598-6000
Fax: 301-598-4678
- Berea Alzheimer’s Care Center
49 Sheldon Rd
Berea, OH 44017
Telephone: 440-234-0454
Fax: 440-234-0494
- Blue Point Healthcare Center
2525 W Belvedere Ave
Baltimore, MD 21215
Telephone: 410-367-9100
Fax: 410-367-9702
- BridgePark Healthcare Center
4017 Liberty Heights Ave
Baltimore, MD 21207
Telephone: 410-542-5306
Fax: 410-542-0086
- BridgePort Healthcare Center
2125 Royce St
Portsmouth, OH 45662
Telephone: 740-354-6635
Fax: 740-354-1443
- Bridgewater Healthcare Center
14751 Carey Rd
Carmel, IN 46033
Telephone: 317-575-2208
Fax: 317-575-6165
- Burlington House Healthcare Center
2222 Springdale Rd
Cincinnati, OH 45231
Telephone: 513-851-7888
Fax: 513-589-3444
- Canfield Healthcare Center
2958 Canfield Rd
Youngstown, OH 44511
Telephone: 330-792-5511
Fax: 877-301-3266
- Canton Healthcare Center
1223 Market Avenue 44714
Canton, OH 44714
Telephone: 330-454-2152
Fax: 877-230-5439
- Cedars Healthcare Center
1242 Cedars Ct
Charlottesville, VA 22903
Telephone: 434-296-5611
Fax: 434-296-1171
- Chardon Healthcare Center
620 Water St
Chardon, OH 44024
Telephone: 440-285-9400
Fax: 440-285-9378
- Clifton Healthcare Center
625 Probasco St
Cincinnati, OH 45220
Telephone: 513-281-2464
Fax: 513-281-2559
- Clinton Healthcare Center
9211 Stuart Ln
Clinton, MD 20735
Telephone: 301-868-3600
Fax: 301-856-6218
- Columbus Healthcare Center
4301 Clime Rd N
Columbus, OH 43228
Telephone: 614-276-4400
Fax: 614-276-5509
- Commons at Cumberland
506 White Ave
Cumberland, MD 21502
Telephone: 301-722-5535
Fax: 301-724-5801
- Commons at Greenbriar
8060 South Ave
Boardman, OH 44512
Telephone: 330-758-8855
Fax: 330-758-8433
- Copley Health Center
155 Heritage Woods Dr
Copley, OH 44321
Telephone: 330-666-0980
Fax: 330-666-5585
- Addison Healthcare Center
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- Crestwood Care Center
225 W Main St
Shelby, OH 44875
Telephone: 419-347-1266
Fax: 419-342-7035
- Crystal Creek Health and Rehabilitation Center
250 S New Florissant Rd
Florissant, MO 63031
Telephone: 314-838-2211
Fax: 314-838-5981
- Cumberland Healthcare Center
512 Winifred Rd
Cumberland, MD 21502
Telephone: 301-724-6066
Fax: 301-724-0129
- Dixon Healthcare Center
135 Reichart Ave
Wintersville, OH 43952
Telephone: 740-264-1155
Fax: 877-292-0653
- Eagle Creek Healthcare Center
4102 Shore Dr
Indianapolis, IN 46254
Telephone: 317-347-9051
Fax: 317-347-9065
- Ellicott City Healthcare Center
3000 N. Ridge Rd
Ellicott City, MD 21043
Telephone: 410-461-7577
Fax: 410-461-6695
- Evergreen Healthcare Center
924 Charlie’s Way
Montpelier, OH 43543
Telephone: 419-485-8307
Fax: 877-301-3452
- Falling Water Healthcare Center
18840 Falling Water Rd
Strongsville, OH 44136
Telephone: 440-238-1100
Fax: 440-238-9575
- Fayette Health and Rehabilitation Center
1217 W Fayette St
Baltimore, MD 21223
Telephone: 410-727-3947
Fax: 410-385-5886
- Forestville Health and Rehabilitation Center
7420 Marlboro Pike
Forestville, MD 20747
Telephone: 301-736-0240
Fax: 301-736-9366
- Fort Washington Health Center
12021 Livingston Rd
Fort Washington, MD 20744
Telephone: 301-292-0300
Fax: 301-292-2986
- Garden Valley Healthcare Center
8575 N Granby Ave
Kansas City, MO 64154
Telephone: 816-436-8575
Fax: 816-436-0585
- Grande Lake Healthcare Center
1209 Indiana Ave
St Marys, OH 45885
Telephone: 419-394-7611
Fax: 877-396-5260
- Grande Pointe Healthcare Community
3 Merit Dr
Richmond Heights, OH 44143
Telephone: 216-261-9600
Fax: 216-261-9662
- Great Lakes Healthcare Center
2300 Great Lakes Dr
Dyer, IN 46311
Telephone: 219-322-3555
Fax: 219-865-4028
- Green Park Senior Living Community
9350 Green Park Rd
Saint Louis, MO 63123
Telephone: 314-845-0900
Fax: 314-845-0901
- Greenbriar Healthcare Center
8064 South Ave #1
Boardman, OH 44512
Telephone: 330-726-3700
Fax: 330-726-2194
- Greenbrier Healthcare Center
6455 Pearl Rd
Parma Heights, OH 44130
Telephone: 440-888-5900
Fax: 440-888-0976
- Greenfield Healthcare Center
200 Green Meadows Dr
Greenfield, IN 46140
Telephone: 317-462-3311
Fax: 317-462-8412
- Greenwood Healthcare Center
377 Westridge Blvd
Greenwood, IN 46142
Telephone: 317-888-4948
Fax: 317-885-5085
- Hagerstown Healthcare Center
750 Dual Highway
Hagerstown, MD 21740
Telephone: 301-797-4020
Fax: 301-797-2956
- Hanover Healthcare Center
435 Avis Ave NW
Massillon, OH 44646
Telephone: 330-837-1741
Fax: 330-837-1747
- Harrison Healthcare Center
150 Beechmont Dr
Corydon, IN 47112
Telephone: 812-738-0550
Fax: 812-738-6273
- Holly Hill Healthcare Center
531 Stevenson Ln
Towson, MD 21286
Telephone: 410-823-5310
Fax: 410-505-1238
- Homestead Healthcare Center
2317 East Home Rd
Springfield, OH 45503
Telephone: 937-399-9217
Fax: 877-342-1520
- Indian Creek Healthcare Center
240 Beechmont Dr
Corydon, IN 47112
Telephone: 812-738-8127
Fax: 812-738-3161
- Kensington Healthcare Center
3000 McComas Ave
Kensington, MD 20895
Telephone: 301-933-0060
Fax: 301-933-4884
- Kokomo Healthcare Center
429 W Lincoln Rd
Kokomo, IN 46902
Telephone: 765-453-5600
Fax: 765-455-0110
- Lake Pointe Health Center
3364 Kolbe Rd
Lorain, OH 44053
Telephone: 440-282-2244
Fax: 440-282-2280
- Laurelwood Healthcare Center
100 Laurel Dr
Elkton, MD 21921
Telephone: 410-398-8800
Fax: 410-398-4592
- Maple Wood Healthcare Center
724 NE 79th Terrace
Kansas City, MO 64118
Telephone: 816-436-8940
Fax: 816-436-9289
- Marley Neck Health and Rehabilitation Center
7575 E Howard Rd
Glen Burnie, MD 21060
Telephone: 410-768-8200
Fax: 410-768-2954
- Mount Vernon Healthcare Center
8111 Tis Well Dr
Alexandria, VA 22306
Telephone: 703-360-4000
Fax: 703-780-6438
- Northwest Healthcare Center
4601 Pall Mall Rd
Baltimore, MD 21215
Telephone: 410-664-5551
Fax: 410-664-1068
- Northwestern Healthcare Center
570 N Rocky River Dr
Berea, OH 44017
Telephone: 440-243-2122
Fax: 440-243-8588
- Oak Grove Healthcare Center
620 E Water St
Deshler, OH 43516
Telephone: 419-278-6921
Fax: 419-278-2910
- Pebble Creek
670 Jarvis Rd
Akron, OH 44319
Telephone: 330-645-0200
Fax: 330-645-0316
- Petersburg Healthcare Center
287 South Blvd
Petersburg, VA 23805
Telephone: 804-733-1190
Fax: 804-732-5994
- Pine Valley Care Center
4360 Brecksville Rd
Richfield, OH 44286
Telephone: 330-659-6166
Fax: 330-659-2944
- Riverside Healthcare Center
1390 King Tree Dr
Dayton, OH 45405
Telephone: 937-278-0723
Fax: 937-276-8675
- Rolling Hills Healthcare Center
3625 St. Joseph Rd
New Albany, IN 47150
Telephone: 812-948-0670
Fax: 812-948-6222
- Salem East Healthcare Center
230 Continental Dr
Salem, OH 44460
Telephone: 330-337-9503
Fax: 877-290-6786
- Salem North Healthcare Center
250 Continental Dr
Salem, OH 44460
Telephone: 330-337-9503
Fax: 877-290-6786
- Salem West Healthcare Center
2511 Bentley Drive
Salem, OH 44460
Telephone: admissionsalem@chs-corp.com
Fax: 877-290-6786
- Sellersburg Healthcare Center
7823 Old State Rd 60
Sellersburg, IN 47172
Telephone: 812-246-4272
Fax: 812-246-8160
- Sleepy Hollow Healthcare Center
6700 Columbia Pike
Annandale, VA 22003
Telephone: 703-256-7000
Fax: 703-462-7513
- South River Health and Rehabilitation Center
144 Washington Rd
Edgewater, MD 21037
Telephone: 410-956-5000
Fax: 410-956-0470
- SouthPointe Healthcare Center
4904 War Admiral Dr
Indianapolis, IN 46237
Telephone: 317-885-3333
Fax: 317-883-3221
- Southwood Healthcare Center
2222 Margaret Ave
Terre Haute, IN 47802
Telephone: 812-232-2223
Fax: 812-231-4550
- The Colony Healthcare Center
563 Colony Park Dr
Tallmadge, OH 44278
Telephone: 330-630-9780
Fax: 877-403-4594
- The Pines Healthcare Center
3015 17th St NW
Canton, OH 44697
Telephone: 330-454-6508
Fax: 877-403-4580
- Valley View Healthcare Center
333 W Mishawaka Rd
Elkhart, IN 46517
Telephone: 574-293-1550
Fax: 574-522-6359
- Wedgewood Healthcare Center
101 Potters Ln
Clarksville, IN 47129
Telephone: 812-948-0808
Fax: 812-948-0889
- Westminster Healthcare Center
1234 Washington Rd
Westminster, MD 21157
Telephone: 410-848-0700
Fax: 410-848-0682
- Wexford Healthcare Center
9850 Old Perry Hwy
Wexford, PA 15090
Telephone: 412-366-7900
Fax: 412-366-8768
- Wildwood Healthcare Center
7301 E 16th St
Indianapolis, IN 46219
Telephone: 317-353-1290
Fax: 317-351-2579
- Willow Tree Healthcare Center
1263 S George St
Charles Town, WV 25414
Telephone: 304-725-6575
Fax: 304-725-8213
- Wood Glen Alzheimer’s Community
3800 Summit Glen Rd
Dayton, OH 45449
Telephone: 937-436-2273
Fax: 937-433-2017
- Worthington Healthcare Center
2675 36th St
Parkersburg, WV 26104
Telephone: 304-485-7447
- Wyant Woods Care Center
200 Wyant Rd
Akron, OH 44313
Telephone: 330-836-7953
Fax: 330-836-6806
- Crestwood Care Center