State Orders Rocky Hill Nursing Home To Hire Consultant

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State health officials have fined the operator of a Rocky Hill nursing home $5,000 and ordered it to hire an independent nursing consultant after finding dozens of violations, most of which involved the care of residents.

Under the order, Apple Rehabilitation of Rocky Hill must hire an independent consultant who is a registered nurse. The consultant must be at the facility 32 hours per week and be on-site at various times during all three shifts. The consultant, who must be pre-approved by the state Department of Public Health (DPH), will work for at least six months to ensure “the safety, welfare and well-being of the residents” and to make sure the facility is obeying laws, the consent order said.

The consultant is responsible for assessing, monitoring and evaluating direct resident care “with particular emphasis and focus on the delivery of nursing services,” according to the consent order. The consultant also will provide staff training and retraining as necessary, the order said.

The order resulted from 24 violations DPH inspectors found during unannounced visits to the nursing home between April 26 and May 12.

Among the violations, according DPH: Staff failed to notify a physician when a resident had low blood sugar and was administered insulin; a nursing assistant struck the hand of a resident with dementia who was pulling on a tablecloth during a meal; staff failed to provide the necessary housekeeping “to ensure environment was clean, comfortable and home-like” (spider webs and dust were found); and staff failed to take steps to prevent residents from developing bedsores and pressure ulcers.

DPH investigators also found staff failed to follow physicians’ orders and failed to keep records correctly in several cases, among other violations, the consent order said.

Apple Rehabilitation President Brian Foley signed the consent order Sept. 21.

Ann Collette, vice president of business development at Apple Rehab, said the Rocky Hill facility is working with the state to ensure its systems promote the health and well-being of residents, and there is a new leadership team in place.

“Both our administrator and our director of nursing are seasoned professionals who have regional-level experience running five-star skilled nursing centers,” she said. “We welcome their experience and commitment to quality care.”

Apple Rehab’s goal is “to provide our valued patients with the very best care and services,” she added.

The independent consultant will confer with the facility’s administrator, director of nursing services and medical director. All those people will meet with DPH officials every four weeks for the first three months, then every eight weeks through the remainder of the consultant’s tenure.

The consultant will make sure the facility has sufficient nursing personnel to meet residents’ needs and to ensure residents are clean and comfortable, are assessed in a timely manner, and that any injuries of unknown origins are investigated.

Under the order, Apple Rehabilitation of Rocky Hill must appoint a “free floating registered nurse supervisor” on first and second shifts to assess resident care, and must ensure minimum staffing requirements are met in most areas of the facility.

There must be a ratio of one nurse’s aide per 10 residents, for instance, during the first shift, one aide per 12 residents on the second shift, and one aide per 20 residents on the third shift. There must be one licensed nurse per 32 residents on the first and second shifts and one licensed nurse per 40 residents on the third shift, according to the order.

4 thoughts on “State Orders Rocky Hill Nursing Home To Hire Consultant

  1. My husband was a patient there a couple of years ago. His dietary requirements were ignored. Weekend’s he was served nothing but sandwiches for lunch and dinner. He was put in a room with a long term patient, even though he was there for rehab. Things got so bad that he wrote an email to the CEO of the company to complain about the many issues that he endured with he was there. I couldn’t get him out of there fast enough.

  2. My mom was a patient there three years ago and now has passed. I was very very unhappy with her care. She had gotten c diff and had runs everyday she would call to be changed and it would take awhile before someone would change her.I would be there and have witnessed it.Her butt would so red. With the medication that was given to her and a starting dementia She would be a little forgetful they had no patients at

    all for her. One day my mom had said to me one of the aids slap her across the face .We did make a report on that. I thought at first she was making it up but now thinking about it I really do not think she was lying I really think it did happen. They would leave her dinner there knowing that she needed help with eating and I come to see her and no one fed her. I could go on and on.I hope this gets resolved. No one should be treating like that.

  3. Apple is just as bad as Covenant Village in Cromwell Ct. I lasted there 4 months. 15 total residents a night. How can 1 person care for 15 TOTAL people. The state needs to change the laws on how many people 1 aide can care for. It should be no more than 10. Also housekeeping was gone by 4 pm daily
    The nurse had to give meds to 30 people. Its crazy that we are dealing with humans and have to work so hard and so stressed. All these homes care about is $$$$$$$.

  4. The. State should change the standards of care there should be 1 nurse for 15 patients and two cna’s per 15. Most patients in any nursing home are total care 24/7. There is never enough staff to feed. Change. Toilet every two hours and assist those with memory needs that follow staff around, and try to stand up All the time, and are at risk for falls. The nurses and aids have treatments, meetings, getting individuals out of be, into bed, using lifts for non weight bearing patients, and you need more then one individual to do that safely per inservices
    If you factor in call outs, being short of staff, performing backbreaking tasks, for little pay, there is a lot to say for CT standards for elder care. Staff are at risk for assault just like anywhere else. With minimal staff. There is a higher risk, unsupervised while care is given to other residence are at risk for falls. These remarks are based on staffing levels of nursing homes in CT, not any specific facility. Our elderly deserve more staff to get their needs met. And staff need more staff to be able to give good care. Services cost so much for residence to get housing and care. Shouldn’t the funds go to patient care, enough good staff, and food they enjoy. This is where these individuals stay until they unfortunately leave us. Don’t they and the staff deserve a great environment, care, and not to be injured helping the residence. I would think people would want this for their loved one’s they can’t provide for at home. And believe me, the residence wish they were home, but their families sell them out from under them. Please do what’s right and up the staffing, not only for the patients everywhere in CT and the US, but for the staff in order for them to not have to make the patients feel like they are part of a production line to get their needs taken care of. Most have to get fed, toilets all the time, nevermind when any facility gets a GI bug or the flu. It’s never easy, then staff get sick. This is to be a positive note to help any nursing facility. The standard practices set up for staffing aren’t reasonable. If people making these standards would step I, the shoes for a week and do what the healthcare. Worker floor staff do, they would see it different. At my age, my back couldn’t do it, I have in the past. People care about the residence otherwise they wouldn’t take on these careers. Often healthcare workers are the only people these residence see daily. They wanna do well by them. Please change the standards everywhere, so good workers don’t get injured or burned out. Educate, train, and care for the residence and employees, it goes a long way. If you love what you do, it’s not work, its compassion driven. Less burn out, better incentives for all, and sufficient staff. Can’t get needs met with no staff.