Reference no: EM133793429

Question

Facts In Illinois, a nursing facility by statute has a duty to provide its residents with proper nutrition. Under the Nursing Home Care Reform Act, the owners of a nursing home are liable to a resident for any intentional or negligent act or commission of their agents or employees that injures a resident. The act defines neglect as a failure of a facility to provide adequate medical or personal care or maintenance, when failure results in physical or mental injury to a resident or in the deterioration of the resident's condition. Personal care and maintenance include providing food, water and assistance with meals necessary to sustain a healthy life (pages 42-43). The nursing facility in this case maintained no records of resident's fluid intake and output. A nurse testified that such a record was a required nursing facility procedure that should have been followed for a person in the resident's condition but was not. The resident's condition deteriorated after staying at the facility for 6.5 days. The resident was sent to the hospital emergency room and diagnosed with severe dehydration caused by inadequate intake of fluids (pages 42-43). The trial court found the nursing facility negligent.