Four nursing homes were recently fined by the state in connection with incidents in which residents were hospitalized, fell, broke a bone or were burned.
On May 6, Sharon Health Care Center was fined $2,320 in connection with two residents who were burned when they were served hot food, the citation from the state Department of Public Health said.
On Sept. 19, one resident was burned on the hand by hot pureed egg, the citation said. The resident was eating without help even though the care plan called for assistance during meals. The resident developed a blister that had to be treated, the citation said.
On Dec. 7, another resident was burned on a knuckle and developed a blister after touching food that was too hot, the citation said.
Staff members were re-trained so that they now serve pureed food last, allowing it to cool down, the citation said.
The chef manager told state inspectors that three heat control knobs had broken off the steam table in December, and the dietary director reported that the dietary staff had not been documenting the temperature of food before it was served.
Administrator John Horstman said the steam table has been fixed and the temperature of the food is monitored each day and logged before it is served.
“I don’t think this is a good reflection of who we are,” he said of the citation. “We’ve received many compliments from people who have done short-term rehabilitation here and from many residents with long-term stays.’’
On April 12, Glendale Center in Naugatuck was fined $1,635 in connection with a resident who broke a leg bone on Oct. 11, the citation said.
A nurse’s aide reported that the resident was being weighed when the scale moved and the person fell, sustaining a cut on the elbow and then complaining of knee pain, the citation said.
Jeanne Moore, a spokeswoman for Genesis Health Care, which owns Glendale Center, said the home is working closely with DPH and has provided additional education to its staff.
“Glendale Center is committed to providing quality care to its patients and residents,’’ she said.
Greenwich Woods Rehabilitation in Greenwich was fined $1,530 on April 20 in connection with a partially paralyzed resident who fell out of a wheelchair on Nov. 17 and was cut on the face.
The DPH citation said the resident’s foot got stuck under the wheelchair, causing the person to fall. The director of rehabilitation said the resident’s chair should have had leg rests on it to prevent falls, the citation said.
The home’s staff were re-trained to ensure that leg rests were on the resident’s wheelchair at all times, the citation said.
The home’s administrator, John Pasheluk, said that “we didn’t agree with many of the state’s findings” and the home entered into dispute resolution with DPH. He declined to say which findings the home has disputed.
On April 12, Marlborough Health Care Center was fined $630 in connection with a resident who gained 16 pounds in 20 days and was hospitalized with swelling and a worsening of congestive heart failure in October.
The resident recovered at the hospital and lost 12 pounds, the citation said. An advanced practice registered nurse said staff members should have informed the APRN about the weight gain so the resident could have been examined, the citation said.
Timothy Brown, a spokesman for the home’s parent company, National Health Care Associates, said the home is “confident that the issues raised in the report were isolated and not consistent with the care at our center. Clinical staff have been educated in the importance of documentation and retrained in policies and procedures.”
