Three Connecticut Nursing Homes Face State Fines

Three nursing homes in southeastern Connecticut face state fines of more than $1,000 for lapses in care cited by the Department of Public Health.

• Kindred Nursing and Rehabilitation Crossings East of New London was fined $1,090 by the DPH for two incidents in which staff members acted inappropriately with patients. In one case, a nurse physically restrained a resident who was behaving aggressively and engaged in an inappropriate verbal exchange, the DPH report says. In another, a nurse’s aide called a resident a derogatory name and slammed the door when she exited the resident’s room. The aide was terminated after the facility investigated the incident, the DPH report says.

• Avalon Health Care Center at Stoneridge in Mystic was fined $1,020 in connection with an incident in which a resident who had trouble eating suffered second-degree burns on his or her thigh from spilling hot soup that he or she was trying to eat. The resident was sitting at a supervised lunch table when the spill occurred, but a nurse’s aide had patted the resident’s pants dry, and the burns were not discovered until 45 minutes later, the DPH report says.

• Regency Heights of Norwich, LLC, was fined $1,490 for lapses in care related to two residents – one who was a suicide risk, and the other who was an elopement or escape risk. In one case, state surveyors faulted the home for not taking full precautions after a resident had attempted suicide by wrapping a belt around his or her neck. Although the facility provided one-on-one monitoring of the patient, state inspectors found that call-light cords were left within the resident’s reach, and an aide on duty was allowing the resident to go into the bathroom alone. The home also was cited in the case of a resident who climbed out a first-floor window and suffered a wrist injury. The care plan for that resident did not include adequate precautions to address the patient’s tendency to try to leave the facility, the DPH report says.