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).

Nursing Homes Fined For Violations That Put Residents At Risk, Caused Harm

The state Department of Public Health (DPH) has fined four nursing homes for violations that resulted in resident harm. Village Crest Center for Health and Rehabilitation in New Milford was fined $10,000 for two violations. On June 14, 2019, two residents were found by a dietary aide walking outside near the facility.  One of the two residents had fallen and was an elopement risk, but wasn’t identified as one in documentation, DPH said. As the residents were leaving the facility, a receptionist who saw them thought that one of the people in the foyer was a guest, signing the resident out, according to the DPH.

Farmington Nursing Home Fined $9,060; Four Others Cited

Five Connecticut nursing homes have been fined for violations that jeopardized residents’ safety. The state Department of Public Health (DPH) fined Amberwoods of Farmington $9,060 following an incident in which a resident threatened to slit another resident’s throat with a butter knife. On Feb. 6, a resident with dementia and depression entered another resident’s room with a knife and made a threatening gesture to cut the resident’s neck with a butter knife and drink the blood, according to the DPH citation. A nurse aide in the room tried to take the knife but the resident put the knife under a cushion.

Staff Errors Result In Nursing Home Fines

The state Department of Public Health (DPH) has fined four nursing homes following staff errors and lapses in care earlier this year. Gardner Heights Health Care Center in Shelton was fined $3,480 after a resident who was known to have difficulty swallowing choked on a lasagna noodle. The resident choked in a dining room on April 24. Staff performed the Heimlich maneuver several times with no success, according to DPH. When the resident subsequently was suctioned, a three-inch-long lasagna noodle was removed; the resident soon became more responsive, had improved color and began talking again.

Six Nursing Homes Fined Following Care Lapses

Six Connecticut nursing homes have been fined by the state Department of Public Health (DPH) for violations that resulted in injuries to residents. Bloomfield Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation was fined $3,000 for four incidents, spanning from 2015 to this year. On Oct. 8, 2016, a registered nurse found a resident unresponsive with no pulse. According to DPH, the RN did not do a full assessment or begin CPR.

Nursing Homes Fined After Resident’s Death, Undocumented Injuries

The state has fined an Avon nursing home where a resident died and a Bristol home where staff did not document how 10 residents suffered a total of 47 injuries. In all, four nursing homes were recently fined by the state Department of Public Health (DPH) for various violations. Apple Rehab Avon received two fines, totally $5,625, connected to a March incident in which a resident died and a nurse misinterpreted the medical file to contain a Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) Order, according to documents. In the first citation, the facility was fined $3,000. According to the citation, on Feb.

Nursing Homes Fined For Care Lapses, One Cited After Resident Molested Residents

Six nursing homes have been fined more than $1,000 each by the state Department of Public Health in connection with incidents of residents being burned, losing teeth or breaking hips and one resident who molested at least seven others. On March 25, Masonicare of Newtown was fined $1,590 in connection with at least nine incidents in which one resident inappropriately touched the legs, groin or breasts of at least seven female residents. The DPH citation detailed that the resident made sexual comments toward or touched female staff members, visitors and residents between August and November of 2013. Though the resident was placed on one-to-one supervision at times and was twice sent to a psychiatric facility, DPH concluded that the home had failed to consistently correct the resident’s behavior or prevent the sexual abuse. Margaret Steeves, a Masonicare spokeswoman, said some residents with advanced dementia can display this type of behavior and “these behaviors can be difficult to manage.” The home used a number of interventions, including psychiatric interventions, to control the behavior while respecting the rights of all residents, she said.

Four Nursing Homes Fined, One For Wrongly Administering Opiates

Four nursing homes have been fined more than $1,000 each in connection with several incidents that included a resident drug overdose and two residents suffering broken bones. Cambridge Manor of Fairfield was fined $1,380 on July 31, in connection with two incidents at the home, according to a citation by the state Department of Public Health.  In the first incident, on July 3, a resident was admitted to a hospital as unresponsive and suffering an overdose of opiates, the citation states. A DPH investigation determined that the resident had been given morphine and thyroid medicine by mistake, according to the citation. William Gerrish, DPH’s spokesman, said the resident recovered and returned to Cambridge Manor. In the second incident, on July 12, a resident with anxiety and dementia was left unattended in a wheelchair in the lobby, the citation said.