Granite Creek Nursing Home Neglect

In July of 2020, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services launched an investigation into a local nursing home in Prescott, Arizona—Granite Creek Health & Rehabilitation Center—spurred by concerns about a COVID-19 outbreak among residents and employees. In a later report published in November, the agencies described the extreme conduct of administrators, which includes the fact that several staff members continued to work despite testing positive for COVID-19. This led to approximately 50 infected residents and 15 deaths.

When you move your elderly family member into a nursing home, you’re putting a large amount of trust in the organization and its staff to care for and respect them. When that trust is broken, it can lead to serious illness, severe injury, psychological damage, and even death. At Jensen Phelan, we understand how stressful it can be to watch your loved ones face any form of trauma, pain, or distress. If you suspect that a loved one has experienced abuse or neglect—whether at Granite Creek Health & Rehabilitation Center or otherwise—it’s important to contact a Granite Creek nursing home abuse lawyer as soon as possible.

What Happened at Granite Creek Health & Rehabilitation Center?

Granite Creek Health & Rehabilitation Center, a for-profit nursing home facility in Prescott, Arizona, is under fire after the Arizona Republic released a report detailing an investigation that revealed the home forced multiple employees to work even after testing positive for COVID-19. Federal nursing home data shows that 50 residents contracted the virus in the subsequent months and 15 later died from the disease. Poor leadership, delayed tests, lack of infection protocols, sick workers, staff shortages, and falsified data played a role in the catastrophe.

The Arizona Nursing Care Institution Administrators and Assisted Living Facility Managers quickly took action after the report was released. Still, they were questioned about why the incident wasn’t addressed sooner. The investigation also discovered that the facility tampered with employee health screening logs. Despite knowing they were ill-staffed, Granite Creek delayed efforts to declare a staffing emergency and request access to additional workers.

Coupled with board-driven internal investigations, Granite Creek faces an array of legal trouble. Our very own attorneys, Sean Phelan and Chris Jensen, of Jensen Phelan Law Firm, are seeking justice for five families, four of whom have filed lawsuits for wrongful death. The family members of these residents who have been wronged feel strongly about holding all parties accountable.

Signs of Nursing Home Neglect

Today, more than 1.5 million patients reside in United States nursing homes, which are intended to assist in the care of elderly and people with disabilities and provide them with a safe and healthy environment. However, not all nursing homes provide adequate care to our senior loved ones when they’re at their most vulnerable. Aside from COVID-related neglect, there are several behavioral, emotional, and physical symptoms that may indicate mistreatment. Some examples of nursing home neglect may include: 

• Inadequate staff training: Just as the screening process must be thorough, the training of nursing home staff members must be in-depth. Understaffed nursing homes usually lead to new hires being rushed into their jobs without adequate training.
• Unsafe premises: When the premises aren’t kept reasonably safe or there’s a known hazard at the facility that’s not quickly corrected, the facility may be considered negligent.
• Failure to adhere to food and health department requirements: Unlike restaurant inspections, food inspections at nursing homes largely fly under the radar. Residents nationwide are at risk for foodborne illness from unsafe kitchens.
• Neglecting residents’ needs: Staff members who don’t provide basic health care as promised by the nursing facility—such as failing to change a senior’s clothes or not properly bathing them—are neglectful.
• Failure to seek medical care or treatment: Medical neglect occurs when a nursing home staff member fails to meet a resident’s health care needs, which can include not regularly moving those with mobility issues, not reporting signs of infections or illnesses, or improper medical care for those with existing health problems.

In general, a nursing home has a legal duty to monitor the elderly and at-risk residents they oversee. If the facility and its personnel are negligent and don’t appropriately monitor and care for their residents, they may be held liable in a nursing home negligence lawsuit.

Contact the Granite Creek Nursing Home Neglect Lawyers Today

If you believe that a member of your family is caught up in a harmful or neglectful situation in an Arizona nursing home—whether at Granite Creek Health & Rehabilitation Center or otherwise—it’s important that you get in touch with a Granite Creek nursing home neglect lawyer as soon as possible. We’re a group of experienced attorneys who understand Arizona-specific regulations and government healthcare. Our team of highly skilled trial attorneys will best be able to help you seek compensation for your loved one’s injury or illness.

With over 40 years of experience litigating these types of cases, the knowledgeable lawyers at Jensen Phelan approach each case on an individual basis and serve to help your family financially recover from any neglect and abuse. We strive to build strong relationships with our clients through trust and communication to ensure that we fully understand your needs.

Our firm is currently representing several families throughout Prescott with their cases. Schedule a free consultation with one of our Granite Creek nursing home neglect lawyers by calling (928) 910-7268 or completing our online contact form today.