Background info in NHC Healthcare Athens
The south remains one of the most popular retirement destinations in the country, with tens of thousands of older folks flocking to small towns every year. Naturally, nursing homes have had to expand to accommodate, but unfortunately, not all nursing homes are created equal. The Athens branch of the NHC Healthcare chain continues to fare below average in terms of both national and state benchmarks, with Medicare rating it at just two out of a possible five stars. Located at 1204 Frye St in Athens, TN 37303, the facility is reachable by phone at (423) 745-0434. NHC Healthcare Athens is home to 86 certified beds, and it accepts both Medicare and Medicaid to provide a wide range of payment types. It hosts a resident council as well. In terms of business operation, NHC Healthcare Athens is a for profit corporate owned facility, and it does business as NHC Healthcare-Athens LLC.
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Data on NHC Healthcare Athens
When it comes to the level of service provided by the Athens branch of NHC Healthcare’s slew of facilities, staffing rises to the top as the most problematic issue. Achieving the bare minimum one of out five stars, staffing concerns include lower than average visitation with residents almost across the board. Registered nurses spend just 36 minutes with each resident per day, and nurse aid hours come in at just over 2 hours per resident per day, below both the Tennessee average and the national average as a whole.
However, quality of resident care also indicates some problems, with long-stay residents experiencing significantly reduced positive outcomes compared to short stays. With an average of 2.60 emergency department visits per 1000 resident days, NHC Healthcare Athens exceeds the national average by more than three times, and as many as 6.3% of residents have a urinary tract infection at any given time. Residents’ abilities to live life independently worsened across the board at Athens, with areas such as moving independently, losing control of bowels, and losing too much weight all hovering at around 1.5 to 2 times the national average.
Health Inspections at NHC Healthcare Athens and Frequent Complaints
When nursing homes are subjected to a health inspection, they are not typically informed ahead of time when or how the process will occur. NHC Healthcare Athens saw multiple citations in its most recent 2021 health inspection, which occurred on May 7. During this inspection, it was found that the facility did not adequately prevent residents from leaving the building; a resident was found outside the facility in the grass just 8 feet from a two-lane road and more than 150 feet from the building. The resident was located by a visitor, who requested help. Staff failed not only to actively prevent such egress from the building but also to adequately respond to door alarms, such as by checking outside the building before resetting alarms.
In an earlier health inspection, inspectors noted that the kitchen failed to provide adequately safe and clean utensils and other cookware for residents. Many items such as knives and pans were found to contain flaky or discolored residue that was not cleaned off prior to serving food.
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Disclaimer
*The above does not mean your loved one would be in harm at this facility. Each facility gets inspected often. Almost all facilities have deficiencies. Many face civil lawsuits. You should not make a facility placement decision based solely on the above information. Each case is different. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome or indicate an expected outcome on your particular case. The above prior lawsuit information is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. The information is not provided in the course of an attorney-client relationship and is not intended to substitute for legal advice from an attorney. This individual case information above is publicly filed information gathered from the publicly filed complaint. This information and these cases are not the work of this law firm. The inspection results are provided from public government agency surveys. The state Department of Health conducts a survey of all nursing home facilities at least once every 15 months. The deficiencies listed on this page may have been corrected after the date of the inspection and date of publishing this material. Citations, ratings and deficiencies are current as of the date of this post and will change later on. The inspection findings published are not complete. You may find the most up to date information at medicare.gov. This material is not endorsed by the facility or by any governmental agency. Speak with an attorney immediately if you believe you have a viable case against a nursing home, assisted living facility or medical facility.
