I-Team In-Depth

New Strain On State Nursing Homes: Keep Patients Out Of Hospitals

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At the Fresh River Healthcare nursing home in East Windsor, the chance that a short-stay patient will end up back in the hospital within 30 days of arriving at the facility is less than eight percent. Meanwhile, 12 miles away at the Greensprings Healthcare and Rehabilitation nursing home in East Hartford, more than a third of patients who came from hospitals will be readmitted in 30 days. The wide swing in nursing home patients’ re-hospitalization rates has a lot to do with the condition patients are in when they are discharged from inpatient stays, as well as the planning that goes into the transition to other care. The federal government has been penalizing hospitals since 2012 for high rates of patients returning within 30 days of discharge. But now, nursing homes (or skilled nursing facilities) also are being held accountable for hospital readmissions.

Fines & Sanctions

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

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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.