I-Team In-Depth

New Strain On State Nursing Homes: Keep Patients Out Of Hospitals

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At the Fresh River Healthcare nursing home in East Windsor, the chance that a short-stay patient will end up back in the hospital within 30 days of arriving at the facility is less than eight percent. Meanwhile, 12 miles away at the Greensprings Healthcare and Rehabilitation nursing home in East Hartford, more than a third of patients who came from hospitals will be readmitted in 30 days. The wide swing in nursing home patients’ re-hospitalization rates has a lot to do with the condition patients are in when they are discharged from inpatient stays, as well as the planning that goes into the transition to other care. The federal government has been penalizing hospitals since 2012 for high rates of patients returning within 30 days of discharge. But now, nursing homes (or skilled nursing facilities) also are being held accountable for hospital readmissions.

Fines & Sanctions

Two Nursing Homes Cited After Resident Deaths

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Seven nursing homes were recently fined more than $1,000 each by the state Department of Public Health, including a Bridgeport home and a Hamden facility that were each cited in connection with the death of a resident. The residents who died were at Bridgeport Manor and Arden House Rehabilitation & Nursing Center in Hamden. On Nov. 24, Bridgeport Manor was fined $1,020 in connection with the Oct. 6 death of a resident whose tracheostomy tube was dislodged.

Fines & Sanctions

Chester Nursing Home Fined For Incidents Of Abuse

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A Chester nursing home has been fined $1,730 by the state in connection with incidents of verbal and physical abuse of residents and for failing to report rashes to a doctor for several days. The state Department of Public Health issued the citations Feb. 4 to Chesterfields Health Care Center for incidents of abuse in August and October that were substantiated and for the outbreak of the contagious skin disease in January. On Aug. 28, a witness reported seeing a nurse’s aide “being rough” with a resident, the citation states.

Fines & Sanctions

Five Nursing Homes Fined For Care Lapses

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Five nursing homes were fined by the state Department of Public Health for lapses in care. A $1,020 fine was levied on the Golden Hill Health Care Center of Milford for failing to provide proper care to a resident who needed splints/braces on his or her lower extremities.  An inspection in January found that there was no record that the resident’s skin was monitored, as directed in the care plan.   The resident suffered skin wounds caused by pressure from the incorrect use of the splints/braces, according to a DPH inspection report. The Bishop Wicke Health & Rehabilitation Center, Inc., of Shelton was fined $1,090 for failing to properly supervise a resident who fell twice in August 2012. The patient sustained a hip fracture, as well as lacerations of the forehead and arm, after being found on the bathroom floor. Also, the nursing home was cited for loose bedrails during an inspection.