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Charlesgate Nursing Home Ordered Not to Take Any New Patients After Death

| Jul 30, 2013 | Wrongful Death

The Rhode Island State Health Department has ordered that Charlesgate Nursing Home can not take in any new patients following the death of a resident a little over a week ago. According to news reports, which are not releasing the name of the deceased, a woman was brought to the hospital on July 20 after she was found to have a very high body temperature. She ultimately passed away with a body temperature of 107 degrees. While the cause of death is yet to be confirmed, one can safely assume the extreme temperature contributed to her untimely demise. Further, the nursing home stated that the woman, who had lived at the home for over a year, was in good overall health and her death came as a surprise.

This unfortunate incident occurred during the heat wave Rhode Island experienced during that week. A spokeswoman for the facility stated that air conditioners were operational and that all residents had fans in their rooms. Unfortunately, the victim lived on the fourth floor of this facility which happens to be the only floor without air conditioners in every room.

It is early to speak on the matter, and I am certainly without all of the facts, but this sounds like a tragic event that could have been avoided. I am certain that during the heat wave, Charlesgate must have been aware of the condition of the fourth floor and something could have been done to avoid this tragedy.

  • AC units could have been brought in even on a temporary basis;
  • 4th floor patients could have been moved to vacant room on other air conditioned floors;
  • 4th floor patients could have been moved to communal areas that are air conditioned during the hottest times of the day?
  • 4th floor patients should have been checked on more frequently to see how they were tolerating the heat… According to the new report, the facility did not even become aware of this woman’s situation until she brought herself downstairs with a temperature in excess of 102!

My office handles a lot of nursing home abuse and neglect cases. Cases like this are not as uncommon as one may believe. Nursing homes too often put profits ahead of safety at the risk of the residents. The problem is heightened because the elderly is a population often unable to stick up for themselves or speak for themselves. In the most unfortunate cases, the resident either has no family remaining or their only remaining family lives too far away to appropriately check on the patients health and living conditions.

If you feel that a friend or family member has been abused or neglected while in the care of a nursing home, contact our office right away for a free consultation.

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