Fines & Sanctions

State Disciplines Nurses For Drug And Alcohol Abuse

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The Board of Examiners for Nursing this month disciplined five nurses, including two registered nurses who stole drugs meant for patients and took them for their own use. Meeting in Hartford on April 17, the board imposed a four-year probation on the registered nurse license of Kerry Donlon of the Oakville section of Watertown, who stole the opioid painkiller Hydromorphone for her own use while working as a nurse at Yale New Haven Hospital in 2016, a consent order she agreed to said. Donlon also took allergy medicine and medicine for muscle spasms for her own use while working as a nurse at St. Vincent’s Medical Center in Bridgeport in 2018, the order said. She used all three drugs to excess, the order said.

Fines & Sanctions

State Suspends Shelton Doctor’s License, Orders Mental Health Therapy

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The state Medical Examining Board Tuesday suspended the license of a Shelton doctor for two years and placed his license on probation for four years after accepting a hearing panel’s finding that his paranoid behavior is affecting his ability to safely practice medicine. The first two years of the probation runs at the same time as the suspension, which will be followed by two years of probation, the board’s memorandum of decision states. During the probation, Dr. Nami Bayan must see a therapist. After the suspension ends, Bayan will not be allowed to have a solo practice and must practice medicine in a setting with other physicians during the probation, the order said. In July, the state Department of Public Health had ordered Bayan to undergo a psychiatric evaluation after he had sent emails to the department alleging “corruption and organized crime” in the U.S. medical system, law enforcement and DPH, the memo said.

How Many Stars Did Your Hospital Earn? Check Out Our New Database

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In Connecticut nine hospitals, including Yale New Haven Hospital, Greenwich Hospital,  Lawrence + Memorial Hospital and Sharon Hospital, received an overall 4-star rating, new data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) show. But six hospitals – Bridgeport Hospital, Griffin Hospital, St. Vincent’s Hospital in Bridgeport, Manchester Memorial Hospital, Waterbury Hospital and Charlotte Hungerford Hospital – received the lowest overall rating of 1 star. The overall ratings summarize a variety of care measures that hospitals treat patients for, such as heart attacks, pneumonia and infections, and show how well each hospital performs on average compared to other hospitals in the country, according to CMS’ website. None of the state’s 28 hospitals received CMS’ highest rating of 5 stars.

Fines & Sanctions

Nursing Homes Cited For Injuries And Missing Residents

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Six nursing homes have been fined by the state Department of Public Health (DPH) for various violations in which residents were injured or endangered. Masonicare Health Center in Wallingford was fined $7,800 after a resident with dementia fell from an X-ray table to the floor. The resident fell on Aug. 22, 2018, and suffered a head laceration that required five sutures, according to DPH. A registered nurse had asked the X-ray technician whether straps should be used to secure the resident to the table, but the technician said none were available.

Fines & Sanctions

Med Board Fines, Reprimands Norwich And Shelton Doctors

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A Norwich doctor was disciplined by the state Medical Examining Board for failing to appropriately manage the care of patients with pain, diabetes and a seizure disorder. It’s the third time that Dr. Helar Campos, who also has an office in New London, has been disciplined by the board. Campos was reprimanded and fined $8,000 and had his medical license placed on probation for six months under a consent order he agreed to. During the probation, he must hire a physician to monitor a portion of his patients’ records. In 2012, Campos was fined $7,000 for the illegal delegation of nursing care to unlicensed staff, state Department of Public Health records show.

Fines & Sanctions

State Disciplines 9 Nurses; Reprimands LPN Who Failed To Seek Timely Care For Her Daughter

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A licensed practical nurse from Rocky Hill who was sentenced to nine months in prison in connection with her toddler being badly burned in a bathtub has had her license reprimanded by the state Board of Examiners for Nursing. On Wednesday, Shamique Martin was one of 9 nurses disciplined by the board. It placed her license on probation for four months and ordered her to take courses in ethics and being a mandated reporter of child abuse. In February, 2017, Rocky Hill  police arrested her in connection with her daughter’s burns. In September 2017, Martin pleaded guilty to one count of risk of injury to a minor and one count of making a false statement.

Medicare Cuts Payments To 15 Hospitals For High Infection Rates, Injuries

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Fifteen Connecticut hospitals will lose 1 percent of their Medicare reimbursements this fiscal year as penalties for having relatively high rates of hospital-acquired conditions, data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) show. The hospitals are among 800 nationwide being penalized – the highest number since the federal Hospital Acquired Conditions Reduction Program started five years ago, according to a Kaiser Health News (KHN) analysis of the CMS data. The penalties will be levied during the current fiscal year, which began in October 2018 and runs through September. Under the program, which was created by the Affordable Care Act, the government levies penalties based on hospitals’ rates of infection related to colon surgeries, hysterectomies, urinary tract catheters and central lines inserted into veins.  It also reviews infection rates for Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, and Clostridium difficile, known as C. diff, as well as rates of blood clots, sepsis, post-surgery wounds, bedsores and hip fractures, among other injuries.

Fines & Sanctions

Nursing Homes Fined For Putting Residents At Risk

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Six nursing homes have been fined by the state Department of Public Health (DPH) for violations that resulted in residents being endangered or injured. Noble Horizons in Salisbury was fined $6,660 for incidents related to elopement risks. On Sept. 23, 2018, a resident with dementia left the facility when a WanderGuard sensor malfunctioned. A driver in a pickup truck found the resident walking down the facility’s driveway.

Fines & Sanctions

Nursing Homes Fined For Improper Cleaning Of Equipment, Lapses In Care

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Five Connecticut nursing homes have been fined by the state Department of Public Health (DPH) for various violations, including several instances in which equipment wasn’t properly cleaned. In one citation, Apple Rehab Saybrook was fined $10,000 for two violations. On Sept. 4, 2018, two licensed practical nurses (LPNs) failed to properly clean and sterilize glucometers after drawing blood from multiple diabetic residents. One LPN who took blood from two residents and another who drew blood from four residents cleaned glucometers with alcohol wipes instead of germicidal wipes, the citation said.

Fines & Sanctions

DPH Fines Nursing Homes For Lapses In Care; Two Cases Involved Deaths

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Six nursing homes have been cited by the state Department of Public Health (DPH) for lapses in care, including two cases in which residents died. DPH fined Hancock Hall in Danbury $10,000 in August in connection with three incidents, including the case of a resident who died in June from complications due to a head injury caused by a fall out of a lift, the state citation said. Four days before the death, the resident was kicking and punching two nurse’s aides who were moving the person in the lift, the citation said. A clip on the lift pad came undone and the resident slipped out of the sling and onto the floor and sustained a head injury. A review found that the aides should have stopped the lift and notified a nurse when the person became combative.