Four Nursing Homes Fined Following Lapses In Care

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Four nursing homes have been fined at least $1,000 by the state Department of Public Health (DPH) in connection with residents being cut, neglected or abused by a worker or another resident.

On Sept. 9, Walnut Hill Care Center in New Britain was fined $1,300 for failing to closely monitor an abusive resident, the DPH citation said.

For four days in June, the resident was verbally abusive, punched another resident and bragged that “I can hit anybody I want to,” the DPH citation said. The home medicated the resident and twice sent the person to a hospital emergency room for evaluation. Though a doctor ordered the staff to check the resident every 15 minutes, a registered nurse said there were not enough nurse’s aides on duty to provide one-on-one monitoring of the resident, the DPH citation said. The nurse tried to get another aide to come into work but was unable to find anyone who could work.

Administrator Janet Shahen said no changes have been made in response to the incident.

“This occurred between two residents with dementia, and no injuries were incurred,’’ she said. “Our policies and procedures remain the same to provide patient safety and render quality of care.”

On March 20, Alexandria Manor in Bloomfield was fined $1,160 in connection with an April 15 incident in which four witnesses saw a nurse’s aide treating a resident in a “rough and aggressive manner,” DPH found.

Witnesses said the aide turned the person roughly while changing a diaper and grabbed the resident’s arm and hand, causing the resident’s hand to strike a wheelchair. The aide was fired after the abuse allegation was substantiated, DPH said.

In two DPH citations, Advanced Nursing and Rehabilitation Center of New Haven was fined $1,140 for unclean conditions and $1,160 in connection with a resident being cut.

On April 13, the home was cited for having dirty walls and floors, peeling paint and wallpaper and dirty windows during inspections in March, the DPH citation said.

Inspectors also saw a sink that was leaking, lifts that were dirty, a ceiling that was dripping water and bed rails that were broken, the citation said. Staff members were also seen filling portable oxygen tanks with a door open when the door was supposed to be closed, DPH found.

On Sept. 2, the home received the $1,160 fine in connection with a June 24 incident in which a resident was bleeding from an abrasion, possibly from the pad on a lift, DPH found. A nurse’s aide had refused to provide care for the resident for an hour and 15 minutes and was suspended and subsequently fired for neglect, DPH found.

Peter Showstead, who recently began work as Advanced Nursing’s administrator, said the home took action after the citations.

“Advanced Nursing and Rehabilitation Center approaches the health and safety of our patients as our primary focus,’’ he said. “All staff were immediately re-educated to our policies and procedures.”

On Oct. 27, Lord Chamberlain Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Stratford was fined $1,020 in connection with a June 5 incident in which a resident sustained a cut while falling out of a lift.

A nurse’s aide reported that a loop holding a pad in the lift came loose and the resident slipped out of the lift, struck a bed and fell to the floor, the DPH citation said.

Administrators at Lord Chamberlain and Alexandria Manor could not be reached for comment.

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