Nursing Homes Cited For Infection-Control Violations

Nursing homes inspected for infection-control practices during the pandemic revealed deficiencies, including failure to separate COVID-positive residents from residents who do not have the virus, improper use or no use of personal protective equipment (PPE), failure to practice good hygiene and handwashing and the improper sanitation of equipment. One facility was cited for allowing an assistant director of nursing, who tested positive for COVID, to work for five days. Plans of correction were submitted by each home. None of the facilities were fined. The unannounced, in-person inspections resulted in enhanced staff training and additional deliveries of personal protective equipment (PPE), according to the Department of Public Health (DPH).

Eight Nursing Homes Fined, Following One Death, Care Lapses

Eight Connecticut nursing homes have been fined by the state Department of Public Health in connection with one resident’s death and other incidents of rapid weight gain, cuts and broken bones among residents. On Nov. 7, Beacon Brook Health Center in Naugatuck was fined $2,180 in connection with a resident who died May 23 of cardiopulmonary arrest and a bowel obstruction, DPH records show. DPH found that the home’s medical records failed to reflect that an abdominal assessment was done on May 23 after the resident complained of nausea and a stomachache on May 22. Also, medical records did not indicate that a physician had seen the resident after May 21, and the home did not have a policy about abdominal assessments, DPH records show.