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 After Resident’s Death, Injuries, Medication Error

The state has fined six nursing homes for violations that jeopardized residents’ safety, including an incident in which resident with Alzheimer’s was found dead outside a facility in Wallingford. The facilities were fined by the state Department of Public Health (DPH) for violations that occurred between September 2019 and February 2020. Skyview Rehab and Nursing of Wallingford was fined $10,000 after a resident with Alzheimer’s disease left the facility in January and was found dead about 50 feet from the facility, DPH said. Staff noticed the resident was missing at 7:30 a.m. on Jan. 26, and the resident was found at 8:46 a.m., DPH reported.

State Fines Four Nursing Homes

The state Department of Public Health (DPH) has fined four nursing homes for various violations, most of which resulted in injuries to residents. Groton Regency Center was fined $2,260 for two incidents that happened in September. On Sept. 12, two staff members reported that a nurse’s aide was seen swearing and pointing a finger at a resident, according to the department’s citation. The resident, who had severe cognitive impairments and suffered from vascular dementia and anxiety, seemed upset and scared at the time, according to the citation, but later could not recall the incident.

Five Nursing Homes Fined For Lapses In Care

Five nursing homes have been fined by the state for various violations that resulted in injuries to residents. The state Department of Public Health (DPH) fined Masonicare Health Center in Wallingford $1,300 after a resident fell, breaking a shinbone. In March, the resident who suffers from congestive heart failure and dementia, and requires two-person assistance when using the bathroom, fell when only one nursing assistant moved the client, according to DPH. The nursing assistant said she helped the resident without additional assistance because the resident already was trying to get up, the citation states. “Our residents’ safety is really, first and foremost, our priority,” said Melinda Schoen, Masonicare’s vice president for administration.

Nursing Home Fined After Resident Chokes On Carrot, Dies

Two nursing homes have been fined by the state Department of Public Health, including a home in Wallingford that was fined $2,500 in connection with the choking death of a resident. On Feb. 25, the Village Green of Wallingford received the fine in connection with the Feb. 4 incident in which the resident died after choking on a carrot, the DPH citation said. The resident was supposed to receive a pureed diet, but that day, a nurse found the resident unresponsive with a tray of food that included chopped, not pureed food, the citation said.

Four Nursing Homes Fined, One For Poor Supervision

A West Hartford nursing home has been fined $1,160 in connection with a March incident in which one resident had a violent outburst after being accused of sexual assaulting another resident. The West Hartford Health & Rehabilitation Center was cited for a failure to supervise the accused resident during the outburst and not in connection with an alleged sexual assault, William Gerrish, state Department of Health spokesman, said Thursday. On Feb. 21, a resident of the center accused a roommate of sexual assault, the state’s May citation states. When the accused resident was told of the allegation that day, the person became enraged, shouted at the accuser to recant, then threw a TV at the accuser, the citation states.