Nursing Home Fined After Four Die From Pneumonia, Following Virus Outbreak

A Durham nursing home has been fined $2,000 for lapses in patient care in connection with an outbreak of viral respiratory illnesses at the home in April, in which four patients died of pneumonia. Nearly half of the home’s 43 residents were sickened during the outbreak, state records show. The state Department of Public Health released details of the citation and fine against Twin Maples Health Care Facility on Friday. It also released details of fines against an East Hampton home and a Danbury home. Twin Maples officials did not report the illnesses as an outbreak until April 24, nine days after 10 percent of the residents had symptoms, the state citation said.

Five Nursing Homes Fined For Care Lapses

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.