Tampa Nursing Home Abuse Case – Media Coverage
Family sues over care of elderly woman
BY: WILLIAM R. LEVESQUE
DL: New Port Richey
A recent lawsuit against the Park Lake Village Care Center was filed by Francis Lewis in her capacity as personal representative of the Elizabeth Lewis estate. A Nov. 26 story was not clear on that point.
When Elizabeth Lewis entered the Park Lake Village Care Center, she expected to receive quality care.
A brochure that the nursing home gave her touted the high level of care and the skill of it’s talented staff.
But in a lawsuit filed last week in Circuit Court, Lewis’ family charged that the brochure amounted to misleading advertising because the 95-year-old woman received deficient care at the facility.
The care she received there led to the amputation of one of Lewis” legs and contributed to her death earlier this year, says the lawsuit.
“We all have to die sometime, obviously,” said attorney Michael Trentalange, who filed suit on behalf of Lewis’ surviving family, “ But she went downhill fast after the amputation.”
Park Lake’s administrator defended the care received by residents at the 120-bed facility off State Road 54.
“I think we do a great job,” administrator Gary West said. “The residential care people receive in this building is as good as it gets. I’d put a family member in here in a heartbeat.”
That isn’t the portrait of the home that Trentalange’s lawsuit paints.
The suit charges that an unlicensed nursing assistant attempted to move Lewis from a bed to a wheelchair Feb. 17. The assistant did so even though Lewis’ chart noted the woman should not be transferred by fewer than two employees, the suit says.
The unlicensed assistant dropped Lewis, who severely fractured her shoulder and right leg.
The broken leg was so severe it led to the amputation of Lewis’ leg above the knee, the suit says.
West, Park Lake’s administrator, does not dispute that the employee dropped Lewis and that the employee was an unlicensed nurse’s assistant. West, however, said the assistant was actually an employee of an independent temporary- employment agency that assured Park Lake officials that she was indeed licensed.
“She was not certified to do what she did,” said West. “We paid for a certified aide. We didn’t get one. They represented to us that she was certified. She clearly wasn’t.”
Of the decision to move Lewis without a second assistant or nurse, West said, “There were instructions given that were not followed.”
He could not name the agency involved.
Trentalange, however, said it was still Park Lake’s ultimate responsibility to assure that all those who work at the facility are properly licensed by the state.
“It’s not an excuse to say that you don’t know,” said Trentalange. “It’s their responsibility to check that all their employees are licensed, wherever they’re coming from.”
The suit seeks damages for misleading advertising and the deficient care Lewis allegedly received at Park Lake.
SC: Pasco Times; City & State
PG: 1; 3B
AT: Lawsuit