State Orders Rocky Hill Nursing Home To Hire Consultant

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.

Nursing Homes Fined After Resident’s Death, Care Lapses

State health officials have fined five nursing homes at least $1,500 each in connection with residents who were abused or injured and one who died in July after being outside in sweltering heat for hours. On Aug. 10, Gardner Heights Health Care Center in Shelton was fined $3,000 in connection with a resident who died after being outside in a garden for more than three hours on July 27 in 95-degree weather, according to the state Department of Public Health (DPH) citation. The resident, who frequently sat in the garden, was in good condition at 2:30 p.m. that day but at 5 p.m., was found to be unresponsive and died about 40 minutes later, the citation said. A review of video at the home could not substantiate that the resident had been checked by staff between 2:30 and 5 p.m., the citation said.

Seven Nursing Homes Fined For Injuries

Seven nursing homes have been fined at least $1,200 in connection with residents who were verbally abused or who suffered cuts or broken bones. The state Department of Public Health (DPH) fined Madison House in Madison a total of $3,640 in separate citations on Feb. 5 and March 3. It was fined $1,940 in connection with a nurse’s aide who was verbally abusive to a resident on Aug. 8.

Stamford, Shelton Nursing Homes Fined Following Deaths

A Stamford nursing home has been fined $5,160 in connection with its handling of emergency procedures when a resident died in January. And a Shelton nursing home was fined $3,000 in connection with a resident who died Jan. 22 without CPR being initiated. On Feb. 22, the state Department of Public Health (DPH) fined Long Ridge Post-Acute Care in Stamford $3,000 in connection with a resident who died on Jan.

Shelton Nursing Home Fined, Ordered To Hire Monitor

A Shelton nursing home owned by Brian Foley – who was sentenced to three months in a halfway house in January in a campaign corruption scandal – has been fined $5,000 for lapses in care and ordered to hire a nursing consultant. On Feb. 5, Foley, the CEO of Apple Rehabilitation, signed a consent order with the state Department of Public Health in which he agreed to the fine and monitoring by the state to correct multiple violations at Apple Rehab Shelton Lakes. The action by DPH, which was posted on its website Tuesday, is unrelated to the scandal that ensnared Foley, his wife, Lisa Wilson-Foley, and former Gov. John G. Rowland. In unannounced inspections between June 4 and June 11, 2014, DPH found lapses in care that involved residents at the home who fell, lost weight, became dehydrated or were neglected, the consent order states.

Two Nursing Homes Cited After Resident Deaths

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.

Four Nursing Homes Fined, One Following A Resident’s Death

Four Connecticut nursing homes have been fined by the state Department of Public Health following injuries and falls, including one fall that later resulted in a resident’s death. Avon Health Center was fined $1,090 because of two incidents. On March 14, a resident died six days after falling out of a mechanical lift and sling. The resident, who had several ailments including dementia, fell while being transferred from a wheelchair to a bed. The resident suffered brain hemorrhaging and a fracture at the base of the skull, and was treated at a local emergency room, according to the DPH citation.

Nursing Homes Cited After Two Residents Died, Another Sexually Assaulted

Seven Connecticut nursing homes have been fined by the state Department of Public Health in connection with lapses in care, including one sexual assault of a resident by another resident and two cases in which residents died. Other cases involved residents who developed pressure sores, one who sustained a cut on the forehead during a fall and another who left a home and wandered across the street. The Kent Ltd. of Kent, which is owned by Apple Rehab, was fined $1,195 on April 4 in connection with two residents for whom CPR was delayed or stopped without a doctor’s order, records show. On May 5, 2013, there was a delay of nine minutes in starting CPR on an 88-year-old resident while a supervisor was notified and while equipment was gathered, records show.