Waterfront Terrace

Waterfront Terrace has 118 certified beds and participates in Medicare and Medicaid. The facility is operated as a for-profit corporation. It is not in a continuing care retirement community. Waterfront Terrace is located on Chicago’s south side in the South Shore neighborhood. The overall rating for Waterfront Terrace is much below average.

The Illinois Department of Health and Human Services inspects Illinois nursing homes approximately every 18 months. On April 25, 2016, a full report was submitted by the Illinois Department of Health and Human Services in conjunction with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Based on interview and record review, Waterfront Terrace failed to avoid a resident from being exposed to the verbally abusive behavior of another resident. This has the potential to affect two of five residents reviewed for abuse in a sample of five residents.

On April 20, 2016, a resident was interviewed. This resident was another resident’s roommate from March 21, 2016 to April 4, 2016. The first resident said that her roommate used profanity every day when speaking to her and yelling out profanity at night. The resident called her different foul words when addressing her. The resident said she couldn’t watch television in her room without her roommate saying, “Turn that MF off!”

Based on observation, interview and record review, the facility, Waterfront Terrace, failed to ensure the volatile behavior of a visitor who may have caused harm to a resident. This failure applied to one of five residents reviewed for abuse and has the potential to affect many residents in the facility. This visitor was observed in the hallway on the third floor next to the nurses’ station. The visitor was forcefully shaking a resident’s wheelchair and telling the resident to “shut up.” The resident was also using profanity. A third floor nurse was at the medication cart which was within five feet of the visitor and the resident. Other staff personnel were within visual range. No one stopped this visitor from this abusive treatment.

The Director of Nursing was interviewed. The Director was asked if the police were called to report this violent act by the visitor. The police were not called. The Director of Environmental Service was asked why staff did not call the police to the third floor when the visitor picked up the broom and attacked a nurse. Obviously, the nursing home’s personnel did not act appropriately to protect residents and themselves from attacks by visitors. The police should have been notified immediately given the dangerous circumstances that threatened a resident and others.

The Waterfront Terrace is rated below average in staffing. The total number of licensed nurse staff hours per resident per day is 1 hour and 7 minutes. The Registered Nurse hours per resident per day is listed at 34 minutes. This compares poorly next to the Illinois average of 57 minutes and the national average of 51 minutes. The CNA hours per resident per day at Waterfront Terrace is 1 hour and 15 minutes. This is substantially below the Illinois average of 2 hours and 15 minutes and the national average of 2 hours and 28 minutes. Waterfront Terrace provides physical therapy staff hours per resident per day at just 3 minutes. This is half as much as the Illinois and national averages of 6 minutes for physical therapy staff hours per resident per day.

In terms of quality measures, Waterfront Terrace rates above average. 22.3% of Waterfront Terrace’s short-stay residents were re-hospitalized after a nursing home admission. 17% of Waterfront Terrace’s short-term residents had an outpatient emergency department visit. That percentage is higher than both the Illinois and national averages in this category. 55.4% of Waterfront Terrace’s short-stay residents were successfully discharged to the community. This percentage was higher than the Illinois average of 51.5% of short-stay residents who were successfully discharged to the community.

11% of Waterfront Terrace’s long-stay high-risk residents contracted pressure ulcers. This percentage of its residents was much higher than the Illinois average of 6.3% of long-stay high-risk residents with pressure ulcers. There were no reports of Waterfront Terrace’s long-stay residents who were physically restrained. 94.7% of Waterfront Terrace’s long-stay residents were assessed and given the appropriate seasonal influenza vaccine. Waterfront Terrace’s long-stay residents were given the appropriate pneumococcal vaccine at the rate of 95.4%, which is a higher percentage than both the Illinois and national averages for this category.

The way quality measures are calculated is from data and risk adjustment. A detailed understanding of the adjustment procedures is not necessary for the average user of Nursing Home Compare which is the online website that is part of medicare.gov. The quality measures utilize a 5-star quality rating system. There is also a graphing measure that is available online.

Waterfront Terrace has received two federal fines in the last 3 years. One fine was assessed in the amount of $4,095.00 on December 17, 2014 and another in the amount of $6,143.00 was assessed on January 29, 2015.

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