Articles Posted in Neglect

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The Queens nursing home has received 15 citations since 2017, including one for abuse and one for failing to provide a clean enough environment.

Midway Nursing Home received 15 citations for violations of public health laws between 2017 and 2021, according to New York State Department of Health records accessed on July 2, 2021. The Maspeth nursing home’s citations resulted from a total of four inspections by state surveyors. The violations they describe include the following:

1. The nursing home did not adequately protect residents from abuse. Under Section 483.12 of the Federal Code guarantees nursing home residents “the right to be free from abuse.” A May 2021 citation found that Midway Nursing Home failed to ensure such. The citation states specifically that the facility did not ensure a resident was kept free from verbal abuse, nor that verbal abuse was immediately reported. The citation goes on to describe an incident in which “a nurse verbally and mentally abused” a resident. According to the citation, staff who witnessed the incident “did not immediately report the incident to the Director of Nursing or Nursing Supervisor,” and the resident later reported experiencing “heightened anger and stress” following the incident of verbal abuse. A plan of correction undertaken by the facility included the separation of the resident and the nurse, who was later terminated following an investigation. The staffer who witnessed the incident was provided a disciplinary action and re-education.

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A new law in New York will create staffing standards for nursing homes.

Legislation signed this month by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo will establish new staffing mandates for nursing homes and hospitals in the state. Under the new law, which will take effect in January 2022, nursing homes will be required to “meet a minimum daily average of 3 1/2 hours of nursing care per resident,” according to a report by Healthcare Dive. Continue reading

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The Citadel Rehab and Nursing Center at Kingsbridge has received eight citations for violations of public health laws between 2017 and 2021, according to New York State Department of Health records accessed on June 18, 2021. Those citations include a finding of systemic accident hazards in the facility, which also received a $10,000 fine in 2016. The Bronx nursing home’s citations resulted from a total of five inspections by state authorities. The violations they describe include the following:

1. The nursing home did not take adequate steps to prevent accidents such as elopement. Section 483.25 of the Federal Code stipulates that nursing homes must keep their facilities “as free of accident hazards as is possible” and provide residents with adequate supervision to prevent accidents. A February 2021 citation found that The Citadel Rehab and Nursing Center failed to ensure such for one resident. The citation states specifically that after new windows were installed in the resident’s rom, the nursing home “failed to ensure the window’s safety latch was in place to prevent the window from tilting into the room and fully opening.” The resident had been identified as at risk for elopement, and had been observed exhibiting increased “exit-seeking behaviors” that were not reported to the physician. At a redacted date, surveillance video showed, the resident opened the window in their room, “threw tied sheets out, and climbed out the window.” They then fell to the ground and were found by staff several hours later, after which they were “transferred to the hospital and expired.” A plan of correction undertaken by the facility included the termination of two Certified Nursing Assistants and a Licensed Practical Nurse.

2. The nursing home did not take adequate steps to prevent physical abuse. Section 483.12 of the Federal Code ensures nursing home residents “the right to be free from abuse.” A January 2021 citation found that The Citadel Rehab and Nursing Center failed to ensure such for one resident. The citation states specifically that during an incident in which a resident slapped a Certified Nursing Assistant, the Certified Nursing Assistant “retaliated and slapped” the resident’s left cheek, causing the resident’s eyeglasses to fall to the floor. The citation states that the incident was witnessed by a housekeeper and another Certified Nursing Assistant. A plan of correction undertaken by the facility included the suspension and then the termination of the Certified Nursing Assistant.

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The nursing home in Campbell Hall, New York was cited for medication errors, among other things.

Campbell Hall Rehabilitation Center received 60 citations for violations of public health code between 2017 and 2021, according to New York State Department of Health records accessed on June 11, 2021. The facility has also been the subject of fines totaling $18,000 since 2011. The Campbell Hall nursing home’s citations resulted from a total of 15 inspections by state surveyors. The deficiencies they describe include the following:

1. The nursing home did not adequately protect residents from abuse or neglect. Section 483.12 of the Federal Code ensure nursing home residents “the right to be free from abuse, neglect, misappropriation of resident property, and exploitation.” A March 2021 citation found that Campbell Hall Rehabilitation Center failed to ensure such. The citation states specifically that it failed to prevent neglect in an instance where a resident’s “bilateral heel wound dressings were not changed in the time frame specified in the Medical Doctor’s (MD’s) orders.” The citation goes on to describe documentation that the resident “required extensive two-person assistance with bed mobility and transfer” and “extensive one-person assistance with dressing and toilet use.” The resident’s physician’s orders required that bilateral heel booties be “applied at all times” and that the resident’s wound dressings be changed in a certain manner. According to the citation, it was not changed between 7am and 3pm on a certain day, with a Licensed Practical Nurse stating in an interview that she had failed to change the resident’s wound dressing during the specified time frame. That LPN later refused to change the resident’s dressing when directed by a superior, according to the citation, and her termination at the facility was subsequently terminated.

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A nursing home in Delhi, New York has received 35 citations in the last four years.

Delhi Rehabilitation and Nursing Center has received 35 citations for violations of public health code between 2017 and 2021, according to New York State Department of Health records accessed on May 12, 2021. The facility additionally received a $2,000 in 2020. The Delhi nursing home’s citations resulted from a total of four surveys by state inspectors. The deficiencies they describe include the following:

1. The nursing home did not adequately prevent medication errors. Section 483.45 of the Federal Code requires nursing homes to keep residents “free of any significant medication errors.” A September 2019 citation found that Delhi Rehabilitation and Nursing Center failed to ensure such. The citation states specifically that staff did not ensure a resident “received significant medications in a timely manner upon admission.” In an interview, the facility’s Director of Nursing said she “was not aware” that the resident did not receive medications when they were admitted, and that at the time it “was not uncommon for newly admitted residents to not have their medications on the evening of admission,” because the facility had no backup pharmacy, meaning that if medications weren’t delivered day-of then staff “had to wait till the next day delivery.” A plan of correction undertaken by the facility included the re-education of licensed nursing staff.

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Lawmakers in the House and Senate are examining whether nursing homes are spending enough money on resident care.

A recent column in the Washington Post argued that the Covid-19 pandemic revealed dire problems in nursing home facilities across the country. The column’s author, Syracuse University law professor Nina Kohn, wrote that these systemic problems, which include understaffing and poor quality of care for nursing home residents, stem in part from “owners who place profit-seeking above their residents’ welfare.” While policymakers have turned their eye towards solutions to the structural flaws in nursing homes, Kohn states that a more concerted effort is necessary to create safer, fairer elder care in the United States. Continue reading

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A nursing home based in Syracuse, New York has received 57 health citations since 2017.

Van Duyn Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing has received 57 citations for violations of public health code between 2017 and 2021, according to New York State Department of Health records accessed on April 8, 2021. The facility has additionally received seven fines totaling $90,000 since 2008. The Syracuse nursing home’s citations resulted from a total of 15 surveys by state inspectors. The deficiencies they describe include the following: Continue reading

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New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has not yet indicated whether he will sign the nursing home immunity legislation.

Last week New York state legislators repealed immunity protections granted to nursing homes earlier this year. On March 26th, the Journal News reported, the New York Senate “voted unanimously to approve legislation that would repeal the Emergency Disaster Treatment Protection Act, which provides immunity to health care providers from potential liability arising from certain decisions, actions and omissions related to the care of people during the COVID-19 pandemic.” The repeal legislation was sponsored by Senator Alessandra Biaggi and co-sponsored by Senators Leroy Comrie, Julia Salazar, and Jessica Ramoz.

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An investigation found that nursing homes with five-star ratings often received citations for abuse and neglect.

A new investigation by the New York Times examines how nursing homes use the star rating system to “mislead the public.” As the article explains, the nursing home star rating system, in which one star is the lowest rating and five star is the highest ratings, has been “a popular way for consumers to educate themselves and for nursing homes to attract new customers.”

However, the report suggests, the system in fact offers “a distorted picture of the quality of care” at nursing homes, with many facilities manipulating the rating system to conceal failings that led to disproportionate nursing home resident deaths during the Covid-19 pandemic. The Times ultimately found that residents “at five-star facilities were roughly as likely to die of the disease as those at one-star homes.” Continue reading

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The New York nursing home has received more than 80 health citations in the last for years.

Saratoga Center for Rehab and Skilled Nursing Care has received 88 citations for violations of public health code between 2017 and 2021, according to New York State Department of Health records accessed on March 5, 2021, as well as four fines totaling $36,000 since 2014. The Ballston Spa nursing home’s citations resulted from a total of 7 surveys by state inspectors. The deficiencies they describe include the following:

1. The nursing home did not implement adequate infection control practices. Under Section 483.80 of the Federal Code, nursing homes must create and uphold an infection prevention and control program that helps to prevent the development and transmission of disease and infection. A November 2019 citation found that Saratoga Center for Rehab and Skilled Nursing Care failed to ensure such. The citation states specifically that the facility did not ensure the annual updating of infection control policies, and further, that the facility did not maintain “standard precautions” during a resident’s dressing change. The citation goes on to describe an instance in which a Graduate Practical Nurse was conducting a dressing change for a resident’s pressure ulcer and did not properly remove their gloves or perform hand hygiene after cleansing the wound and before applying ointment. The citation finally states that in certain shared bathrooms in the facility, residents’ personal items were not labeled. A plan of correction undertaken by the facility included the review of infection prevention policies.

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