A Bridgeport company has been fined $3,000 by the state Department of Public Health for multiple violations, including poor supervision of medication and unsanitary conditions, at two substance abuse treatment centers it operates in Waterbury.
On May 6, Connecticut Renaissance Inc. signed consent orders with DPH agreeing to a $1,000 fine in connection with violations at Renaissance East at 31 Wolcott St. and $2,000 in connection with violations at Renaissance West at 466 W. Main St., both in Waterbury.
Connecticut Renaissance also must hire independent licensed practitioners to oversee each of the treatment centers for at least four months to ensure proper patient care and compliance with all state and federal regulations, the consent decree said.
The violations were found by DPH during unannounced inspections at the two centers in January. Renaissance West had the most violations, DPH said in a Feb. 25 letter, including failing to provide proper supervision, failing to provide a safe environment and failing to ensure that infection controls were in place.
Rachael Petitti, Connecticut Renaissance’s CEO, could not be reached for comment.
Inspectors found air conditioners stored in patient rooms and near emergency exits, dirty walls and floors, missing and broken floor tiles and holes in walls, the Feb. 25 letter states.
In one client’s room, a window was found to be broken and covered with cardboard on Jan. 29, with a client dressed in layers of clothing to stay warm, the letter said. Three weeks later, inspectors found that the window was still broken.
The letter said inspectors also found water-damaged ceilings, broken and rusted doors, peeling paint, graffiti on one door and a bed sheet being used as a blind in one room.
On Jan. 29, four clients who lacked food service training were observed serving a meal, DPH found. Other clients were draining spaghetti in colanders and not wearing hairnets, the Feb. 25 letter said.
DPH also found that the medication room was dirty and that temperatures were not monitored in that room’s refrigerator. A second refrigerator containing urine specimens was unlocked and soiled, DPH said.
The facility was also cited for failing to accurately record the administration of medicine and lacking documentation that smoke detectors had been tested in the past two years, DPH’s letter said.
During a Jan. 30 inspection of Renaissance East, inspectors found that the center failed to maintain safe water temperatures of 110 to 120 degrees. Temperatures ranged as high as 184 degrees in one dorm restroom, according to a Feb. 24 letter from DPH.
Inspectors also found broken or missing blinds, damaged walls, missing banister rails, nails sticking out of a wall and torn chair cushions, the letter said.
The center also failed to maintain the medication room in a sanitary manner and failed to ensure that fire drills were conducted monthly and that clients’ treatment plans were signed by clinical supervisors, DPH found.
The state lets these heath agencies and nursing homes get away with murder and unsanitary conditions like this drug treatment center. Of course Connecticut Renaissance Inc agrees to the fine. They like all make a lot of money and jeporize peoples health and pay next to nothing for fines.
Malloy wants to raise our taxes instead they should raise the fines for making people die and having these unsafe conditions.
If the state needs money go get it from the pot growers and liquor stores that are open on Sunday. Malloy and his admin don’t care about the health of people as long as the state is making money no matter how little when it comes to fines of people that cause the death of their patients. He just helps people get high and they will end up running over someone, killing someone and getting out of jail early as long as he is in office. Shame on those in charge in this state.