Pearlview Skilled Nursing Facility

PLEASE DO NOT CONSIDER THIS FACILITY FOR YOUR LOVED ONE’S NEEDS DUE TO INHUMANE AND ILLEGAL PATIENT TREATMENT!
In April 2014, my brother was a resident at the Pearlview Skilled Nursing facility. He had a horrible experience, which I would like to relate here on Unilocal.
My brother suffers from an extreme brain injury, and cannot eat, swallow, talk, or communicate in any way. He has become hyperactive, due to this extensive brain damage, and cannot stay still, making him a challenging patient. He is also on tube feedings, which make him susceptible to aspiration pneumonia.
At the end of April, my brother contracted pneumonia, while he was a resident at Pearlview. This is a risk that people that are on tube feedings face, so I do not blame Pearlview for this. However, what transpired next is truly INHUMANE and ILLEGAL.
When my brother contracted pneumonia, Pearlview sent him to Medina General Hospital. Once admitted, Pealview then informed the hospital that they would NOT take my brother back when he recovered. In other words, they evicted him from the nursing facility, leaving him homeless, WITHOUT NOTICE. According to Pearlview, this was because of his hyperactivity, and they did not feel that they could offer him appropriate care.
The staff at Medina General Hospital was then forced into overdrive, trying desperately to find my brother a a skilled care facility that he could go to once he would be discharged. This took over a week, and even though my brother was ready to be discharged, there was nowhere for him to go. (Finally, the hospital social workers found a wonderful nursing home in Hudson, called Hudson Elms, that was happy to take him. Fortunately, my brother has received great care there, from a truly phenomenal staff.)
Pearlview Skilled Nursing Facility acted in an inhumane and illegal manner by evicting my brother, refusing to take him back, once discharged from the hospital. While I understand, and agree, that Pearlview could not provide acceptable care for him, it is ILLEGAL to evict a patient from a nursing home without giving 30 day notice. Pearlview did not give notice, shirking their responsibility, and abandoned my brother, a severely brain injured patient without the means to communicate, to Medina General Hospital. This is illegal, immoral, and unethical.
As if eviction without notice isn’t bad enough, my brother suffered terrible lacerations during his time at Pearlview. The hospital staff was horrified by the state of his wounds when he was admitted from Pearlview and had difficulty believing that any nursing facility would have allowed these wounds to progress to the point where they were upon admission. (I have photos of these wounds, and would be happy to provide them to anyone who is interested.) Once I saw these wounds, I would not have sent my brother back to Pearlview, regardless if they would have taken him or not. However, this does not in any way excuse Pearlview’s illegal actions.
I have contacted the Ohio Ombudsman program to lodge a complaint against Pearlview. However, I feel compelled to also Unilocal about this experience, in hopes that it will save another patient from a horrible experience such as the one suffered by my brother.