State Fines Nursing Homes Following Injuries To Residents

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Four Connecticut nursing homes have been fined by the state Department of Public Health (DPH) after inspections uncovered various violations, most of which caused injuries to residents. River Glen Health Care Center in Southbury was fined $10,000 for two instances in which staff failed to use wheelchair foot rests, injuring residents. On July 22, 2018, a resident with dementia fell from a wheelchair while being moved by a licensed practical nurse. With feet down on the floor, the resident propelled forward from the chair, fell and suffered an injury to the forehead, according to DPH. An investigation found foot rests should have been on the wheelchair but were not.

Fines & Sanctions

Nursing Homes Fined For Injuries To Residents, Medication Error

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Four nursing homes have been fined by the state Department of Public Health (DPH) for violations that hurt or endangered residents. The Springs at Watermark 3030 Park in Bridgeport was fined $6,960 after a resident fell onto the floor when being moved from a bed to a wheelchair by two nurse aides. The resident suffered a broken right tibia and fibula in the fall, which happened May 4, 2018, according to DPH. An investigation found the nurse aides were using a Hoyer lift to help with the transfer, as outlined in the resident’s care plan, but the resident slid out of the lift pad. The pad was “bunched up” and had been incorrectly put above the resident’s head when it should have been placed at the base of the resident’s neck, according to the citation.

Westport Nursing Home Fined Following Theft Of Residents’ Funds; Four Others Cited For Care Lapses

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Five nursing homes have been fined by the state, including a facility in Westport where money was taken from residents’ trust funds. Westport Rehabilitation Complex was fined $8,120 following the discovery of the thefts and another incident in which a resident was injured. An investigation found that 20 residents had money missing from their resident trust funds and a facility business office manager was responsible, according to the Department of Public Health (DPH). In total, $3,161 was taken from the residents’ accounts. According to the citation, the missing funds were discovered in November 2018 when an employee alerted the facility’s administrator of “concerns regarding the facility-managed residents’ trust funds.”  Several withdrawal documents appeared to have been altered with Wite-Out.

Fines & Sanctions

Nursing Homes Cited For Injuries And Missing Residents

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Six nursing homes have been fined by the state Department of Public Health (DPH) for various violations in which residents were injured or endangered. Masonicare Health Center in Wallingford was fined $7,800 after a resident with dementia fell from an X-ray table to the floor. The resident fell on Aug. 22, 2018, and suffered a head laceration that required five sutures, according to DPH. A registered nurse had asked the X-ray technician whether straps should be used to secure the resident to the table, but the technician said none were available.

Fines & Sanctions

Nursing Homes Fined For Improper Cleaning Of Equipment, Lapses In Care

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Five Connecticut nursing homes have been fined by the state Department of Public Health (DPH) for various violations, including several instances in which equipment wasn’t properly cleaned. In one citation, Apple Rehab Saybrook was fined $10,000 for two violations. On Sept. 4, 2018, two licensed practical nurses (LPNs) failed to properly clean and sterilize glucometers after drawing blood from multiple diabetic residents. One LPN who took blood from two residents and another who drew blood from four residents cleaned glucometers with alcohol wipes instead of germicidal wipes, the citation said.

Fines & Sanctions

DPH Fines Nursing Homes For Lapses In Care; Two Cases Involved Deaths

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Six nursing homes have been cited by the state Department of Public Health (DPH) for lapses in care, including two cases in which residents died. DPH fined Hancock Hall in Danbury $10,000 in August in connection with three incidents, including the case of a resident who died in June from complications due to a head injury caused by a fall out of a lift, the state citation said. Four days before the death, the resident was kicking and punching two nurse’s aides who were moving the person in the lift, the citation said. A clip on the lift pad came undone and the resident slipped out of the sling and onto the floor and sustained a head injury. A review found that the aides should have stopped the lift and notified a nurse when the person became combative.

Fines & Sanctions

State Fines Nursing Homes For Lapses In Care, Resident Death

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Five Connecticut nursing homes have been fined by the state Department of Public Health (DPH) following lapses in care, including one incident after which a resident died. Jewish Senior Services of Bridgeport was fined $3,060 after a resident with multiple sclerosis died after falling from a bed onto the floor. On June 12, 2018, a registered nurse was applying protective dressings to the resident’s coccyx, turned away to dispose of the dressing wrappers and, when she turned back toward the resident, saw the resident was starting to fall, according to the citation. The RN tried to stop the fall but couldn’t. The RN had moved the patient without help, even though the resident’s care plan called for two-staff assistance with mobility, according to the citation.

I-Team In-Depth

Staffing Levels, Culture Challenge Quality Of Nursing Home Care

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In 2018, the state took the unusual step of issuing a consent order requiring a New Haven nursing home to hire an independent nurse consultant and implement minimum staffing ratios after inspections at the facility uncovered numerous lapses in care and safety violations. The order, agreed to in April by the Advanced Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation and the state Department of Public Health (DPH), tasked the independent nurse consultant with assessing the staff’s ability to do their jobs and evaluating how care is delivered. The minimum staffing ratios ordered are 30 patients to one licensed nurse on all shifts, on most units; 10 patients to one nurse’s aide on the first shift; 12 patients to one nurse’s aide on the second shift; and 20 patients to one nurse’s aide on the third shift. Officials at the facility didn’t return calls seeking comment. It isn’t often that DPH mandates staffing or requires nursing homes to hire consultants, but the order reflects a broader emerging problem affecting the care provided at many nursing homes: insufficient staffing levels and caregivers who lack training.

Fines & Sanctions

Staff Errors Result In Nursing Home Fines

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The state Department of Public Health (DPH) has fined four nursing homes following staff errors and lapses in care earlier this year. Gardner Heights Health Care Center in Shelton was fined $3,480 after a resident who was known to have difficulty swallowing choked on a lasagna noodle. The resident choked in a dining room on April 24. Staff performed the Heimlich maneuver several times with no success, according to DPH. When the resident subsequently was suctioned, a three-inch-long lasagna noodle was removed; the resident soon became more responsive, had improved color and began talking again.

Fines & Sanctions

State Fines Four Nursing Homes

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Four Connecticut nursing homes have been fined by the state Department of Public Health (DPH) for various violations that hurt or endangered residents. Orchard Grove Specialty Care Center in Uncasville was fined $3,480 after a resident with multiple sclerosis developed severe blisters following a moist-heat treatment. On April 7, the resident had a fluid-filled blister that measured 8 by 6 centimeters on the right shoulder, as well as a red rash on the left shoulder. Two days later, the resident had “multiple areas of large fluid-filled blisters” on both shoulders that were oozing, according to the citation. An investigation found the blisters were caused by a treatment administered by an occupational therapist during which moist heat was applied with hydrocollator packs.