The state Department of Public Health (DPH) fined Madison House in Madison a total of $3,640 in separate citations on Feb. 5 and March 3. It was fined $1,940 in connection with a nurse’s aide who was verbally abusive to a resident on Aug. 8. A registered nurse heard the aide swearing and being disrespectful but did not report the incident, the citation said. The aide was fired, the citation said.
That citation also involved a registered nurse who failed to enter a new medication order in the home’s computer system. A resident was given a higher dose than ordered for 16 days and had a seizure on April 7, the citation said.
In the March 3 citation, the home was fined $1,740 in connection with a resident who developed a deep tissue injury that worsened between November 2015 and February 2016, the citation said.
Jeanne Moore, a spokesperson for Genesis Health Care, which owns Madison House, said the home took action when DPH found deficiencies.
“We worked with the state survey agency and very quickly regained regulatory compliance,” she said. “Madison House is committed to providing quality care to its patients and residents.”
On Feb. 8, Westfield Care & Rehabilitation of Meriden was fined $1,940 in connection with a resident who broke two leg bones in May 2015, DPH’s citation said. The nursing home found no evidence that the resident had been abused, but it could not determine the cause of the fractures, the citation said.
The home was also cited in connection with a resident who fell in June 2015 and again in November while leaning forward on a toilet, the citation said. The resident was not hurt the first time but sustained a cut on the head in the second fall. During the second fall, a nurse’s aide had briefly turned away from the resident when the person fell, the citation said.
Apple Rehab owns Westfield, and its spokesperson, Ann Collette, released a statement: “All policies and procedures regarding patient safety as well as policies regarding safe transfers and the prevention of falls is reviewed on an ongoing basis and competencies maintained.”
Greensprings Healthcare & Rehabilitation Center in East Hartford was fined $1,630 on Jan. 25 in connection with a resident who fell July 24 and sustained bruises on the chest, the citation said.
The home determined that the resident had fallen in a shower room and was lifted by a nurse’s aide and a licensed practical nurse without the required use of a gait belt.
The home was also cited in connection with a resident leaving the facility and reaching a plaza across the street on Dec. 12. An employee of the home said a registered nurse should not have let the person go outside, and records failed to document that the resident frequently removed a Wanderguard bracelet, the citation said.
On Feb. 10, Wadsworth Glen Healthcare & Rehabilitation Center of Middletown was fined $1,740 in connection with a resident who broke an arm during a fall Aug. 22 when standing up unassisted from a shower chair, the citation said.
A nurse’s aide admitted turning away from the resident and failing to lock the shower chair to keep it from moving, the citation said. The home is owned by Athena Health Care Systems.
DPH fined another Athena home, Shady Knoll Health Center in Seymour, $1,635 on Feb. 25 in connection with a resident who sustained a large cut on the leg when one nurse’s aide, instead of two, moved the person to a bathroom, the citation said. The home’s policy called for newly admitted residents to be moved by two aides until being evaluated by the physical therapy department, the citation said.
Administrators at Greensprings, Wadsworth Glen and Shady Knoll could not be reached for comment.
On Dec. 8, DPH fined Walnut Hill Care Center in New Britain $1,440 in connection with a resident with severe pain from sickle cell disease who was told there was no pain medication in the facility and who had to wait two hours to be taken to a hospital, DPH’s citation of the Sept. 18 incident said.
An investigation concluded that morphine was available and a registered nurse was aware of this and should have gotten the medication for the resident, the citation said.
Administrator Janet Shahen said the home was recently bought and is now called Grandview Rehabilitation Health Care Center. She released the following statement: “We disagree with some of the findings; however, we strive to ensure a top level of quality of care is provided all of our residents and patients.”
Bridgeport Manor was fined $1,230 on Jan. 20 in connection with a resident who fell and was cut on the head Sept. 28. DPH’s citation said a nurse’s aide was fired in connection with the incident for not using a lift as called for in the resident’s plan of care.
The home was also cited in connection with a resident who broke two leg bones on Nov. 6 when the resident’s boot caught on a wheelchair during a transfer into bed, the citation stated. Nurse’s aides were retrained to be more careful when moving residents into and out of a lift, the citation said.
Administrator Carla Ward said the home self-reported the incident to DPH.
“The well-being of our residents is our greatest concern,” she said. “We work hard to keep our residents safe from accidents, but unfortunately, accidents do occur on occasion. We have worked with the DPH to try and improve our practices and ensure the quality of the care we provide to our residents.”
