Sometimes nursing homes get it all wrong. One nursing home recently was fined for dozens of alleged violations of health and safety regulations.
The state inspection unit visited the facility in February and March and substantiated six separate
complaints of substandard care. The department issued a 99-page list of
deficiencies at the home and imposed the fines.
Among the
alleged problems inspectors cited was a February incident involving an
assault. According to the inspectors' report, one resident of the home
pinned another resident against a bathroom door, then repeatedly struck
the victim with a coat hanger.
The next day, the person
identified as the attacker allegedly threatened another resident who
accidentally ran over his foot with a wheelchair.
The home also was cited for allegedly failing to provide adequate care for residents on oxygen.
According
to inspectors, several residents were hooked up to empty oxygen tanks
or tanks that were switched off. Several different workers at the home
reportedly told inspectors that the home would periodically run out of
oxygen tanks, leaving oxygen-dependent residents with empty tanks
strapped to the backs of their wheelchairs.
Inspectors also
cited the home for allegedly employing an insufficient number of
workers, with some residents and family members complaining that it
took the staff up to 45 minutes to respond to a call for assistance.
The
state inspectors' report details a wide range of other alleged
violations, including unpalatable food; unsanitary conditions; failure
to follow physicians' orders; failure to check residents' blood
pressure; and failure to notify doctors and families of changes in the
residents' conditions.
Alleged violations also included failure
to accurately transcribe doctors' orders; failure to treat bedsores;
failure to provide baths as scheduled; failure to prevent accidents
that caused resident injuries; inadequate nutritional services; failure
to have residents seen by a physician once every 60 days; failure to
conduct adequate background checks on employees; and inadequate laundry
services. For more, read the story.
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Robert W. Carter, Jr. is a Virginia attorney whose law practice is dedicated to protecting the rights of the victims of nursing home and assisted living neglect and abuse in Richmond, Roanoke, Norfolk, Lynchburg, Danville, Charlottesville, and across Virginia.