State Fines Six Nursing Homes Following Residents’ Deaths, Care Lapses

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Six nursing homes have been fined for violations, including two incidents where residents died.

The Reservoir in West Hartford was fined $3,000 after a resident died and investigators found staff did not administer CPR for the required period of time, according to the state Department of Public Health (DPH).

The resident, who was at the facility for short-term rehabilitation, had difficulty breathing on Feb. 6, 2016. A licensed practical nurse (LPN) began performing CPR compressions but soon after, a registered nurse told the LPN to stop the compressions, according to DPH.

Policy states staff must perform CPR until emergency personnel arrive, according to the DPH citation. When emergency personnel arrived, they administered CPR and took the resident to a hospital but the resident was dead on arrival.

“We have provided additional education to our staff and are in full compliance,” said spokeswoman Jeanne Moore. “The Reservoir is committed to providing quality care to its patients and residents.”

Advanced Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation in New Haven was fined $3,000 after a resident with acute kidney injury and other diagnoses died. The citation said the resident’s blood had a critically high level of sodium.

A physician’s order said the resident was to take in between 2,000 and 2,400 cubic centimeters of fluids daily, according to DPH, but records from Feb. 10 to Feb. 20, 2017, lacked entries for 11 out of 30 shifts.

According to the citation, one nurse noted the resident’s poor fluid intake but did not notify supervisors, and another nurse failed to assess the resident. After developing a fever and becoming lethargic, the resident was taken to a hospital Feb. 20 and died there six days later.

Officials at the facility did not return a call seeking comment.

RegalCare of West Haven was fined $1,930 for three incidents.

A resident had a pressure wound on the lower back on Nov. 10, 2016, according to DPH, but a doctor’s order to treat it was not written until Nov. 14 and documentation indicated the wound wasn’t treated until Nov. 16.

Another resident, who was being administered oxygen, was injured behind the left ear Dec. 1, 2016. According to DPH, staff did not put protective ear guards on the resident’s oxygen tank, as is protocol and they misclassified the injury as an abrasion when it was a pressure wound.

Staff kept incomplete records on another, anorexic resident at risk for dehydration, the citation said. The resident was supposed to consume 1,669 cubic centimeters of fluids daily, but documentation for several days between Dec. 6 and Dec. 11, 2016, was incomplete. According to DPH, the resident had an elevated white blood cell count on Dec. 12 and needed intravenous fluids.

Officials at the facility did not return a call seeking comment.

Salmon Brook Center in Glastonbury was fined $1,740 after a resident broke several ribs in a fall. Two nurses’ aides were moving the resident with a mechanical lift on Jan. 27, 2017, when a sling near the resident’s right leg came undone, according to DPH.

The resident was treated at a hospital for multiple broken ribs and excess fluid around the lungs. The aides were given written warnings.

Officials at the facility did not return a call seeking comment.

The Villa at Stamford was fined $1,630 for two incidents.

On Sept. 21, 2016, a housekeeper saw a nurse’s aide hit, push, pull and yell at a resident with dementia while shaving the resident in bed, according to DPH. The aide denied the allegations and was fired six days later.

On Dec. 2, 2016, a resident suffered lacerations to the side of the head and behind one ear after a nurse’s aide tried to turn the resident over while providing incontinence care. The resident, who had Parkinson’s disease and traumatic brain injury, required two-person assistance, according to DPH, but the nurse’s aide tried to move the resident without help. The resident was treated at a hospital and returned to the facility three days later.

Officials at the facility did not return a call seeking comment.

Bayview Health Care in Waterford was fined $1,630 for two violations.

In early 2016, a quadriplegic resident fell on three separate occasions while being repositioned in bed by nurses’ aides. After the first fall, on Feb. 14, the resident’s care plan was updated to require two-person assistance for repositioning, but the resident fell again on March 15 and March 19 when a lone nurse’s aide tried to move the resident.

Another resident suffered a skin tear on the upper shin while being moved on Nov. 21, 2016. According to DPH, the resident’s care plan was updated to require the use of shin tubes on both legs during all transfers, but the resident suffered a 3-inch calf laceration Feb. 16, 2017, when a nurse’s aide failed to use the shin tubes.

3 thoughts on “State Fines Six Nursing Homes Following Residents’ Deaths, Care Lapses

  1. It’s so sad how this state refuse to hire enough staff to care for our elderly whom have lived a life working so hard to provide for their families ..No it does not give those whom injured the elderly a pass, but knowing the lack oh help causes unnecessary injuries. Yes I’ve worked in health care all my life working short staff, going home with back injury due to assisting the elderly without enough help so they could be bathe, dry, reposition, and hopefully have a good night rest.. I could go on but the state union or not refuse to provide.

  2. for quality care, Staff must check in on and interact with each resident AT minimum 6 encounters per night-depending on how the 2 hour turn schedule is skewed-
    So Gramma is checked on at start of shift, diaper off, sit on the potty, if they can, butt washed, new diaper placed-oops, change the sheets cause they got body goo on a spot. give them a drink-feed a sandwich (make it first) if they are hungry- I am sure everyone can imagine doing this with a baby-now super size the time all your kids had the flu- the real efficient parent can can maybe wash dress and feed a kid in 20 minutes-It takes a bit longer, and takes much more care and the entire body is fragile-more fragile than the baby….and they may at any minute not recognize you, their caregiver-and have a tantrum of sorts-like the terrible twos, only bigger-so we have to coax, and beg, and bribe them to get cleaned up, take a bite of egg, whatever.
    I think that skilled nursing CARE centers should have staff ratios –NOT STATE MINIMUM–but in stead CARE SAFE ratios. I hope people start speaking up about this.

    care for the confused, sick, terminal, and broken person-should have about a 1:3 or 1:5 ratio. then maybe harry wouldn’t have to wait to get his butt changed, abby would be more engaged,
    for the hands on care, it needs to have a staff ratio like the pre schools and nursery s – —
    they need to Pay the people that care, pay the people that do the right ethical thing, then good staff would stay, patients and their families would be happy, and the business would grow. Saving the company money by not paying fair wages to the staff that represent the heart and soul of the company will cost everyone involved-and the company may have a fatal heart attack.

  3. Agree 200% Totally under staffed . Where my Mom is in Georgetown, Ky. The Aids have to dress everyone , pass trays out at each meal , go back and pick them up. That leaves about 3 hours out of the day to get water, bathroom, ect. Then when you say to the DON you are under staffed they blow up and say NO we are not per State Guidlines! My Mom is a 2 assist but they do not have any type intercom system so she will push her button – wait forever for some to come. They ask her what she needs then say ok I’ll go see if I can find help and the help is just not there. She has waited up to 2 hours before. This is going to cause her bladder to be weak and the next step just let her go in her depends. That’s what they do with another lady that can’t be moved and had bowel disease. They let her lay in her own waste and it gets into her sores she has and crys for hours for someone to do something.