MASSACHUSETTS
Nursing home founder’s death leads to $140K fine
A resident who fell and was sent back to bed at Holy Trinity Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Worcester, MA, was notable for several reasons. One, Walter E. Haddad, 87, was a founder of the nursing home. Two, his death resulted in a $140,000 fine. Three, the operator is expecting restitution from the staffing service that employed a licensed nurse who was involved.
In August, a certified nursing assistant and licensed practical nurse found Haddad on the floor in the middle of the night. They took him to the restroom and then helped him to bed, and the CNA told investigators he did not make a fall report because the LPN asked him not to.
Several hours after Haddad fell, a physician was called and Haddad was diagnosed with a traumatic subdural hemorrhage. He died the next day.
Holy Trinity agreed to waive an appeal and in return paid the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services a reduced penalty of around $91,000 on Jan. 31. The executive director told the local newspaper he expects Holy Trinity will be reimbursed for the fine by Omni Healthcare Staffing Inc., which had employed the LPN. The CNA was fired.
SOUTHEAST
Utility criticized for deaths
FLORIDA — The response of Florida Power & Light during Hurricane Irma to Rehabilitation Center at Hollywood Hills drew new criticism last month following the review of dispositions, audio files and records by the South Florida Sun Sentinel.
The newspaper obtained the documents under the state’s public record logs and found confusion as to whether the nursing home qualified for “priority” service. Ultimately, 12 residents died from the heat.
The nursing home had been told by state officials that the power restoration request had been escalated with FPL and would be fixed, the newspaper said. The cause of the outage was a blown transformer fuse, which took 45 minutes to fix. Several family members of the residents are suing.
$500,000 settlement reached
TENNESSEE — A Memphis nursing home will pay $500,0000 to settle allegations of “worthless services” between 2012 and 2015, according to local reports.
The lawsuit, unsealed in federal court, asserts that in one instance Spring Gate Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center pre- scribed antipsychotic drugs and anti-anxiety drugs to a resident to keep her docile.
“After Spring Gate prescribed these psychoactive drugs, (her) condition quickly deteriorated,” according to the complaint. “Spring Gate internal reports described her as confused and unsteady, prone to staring off into space.”
Bill Jordan, an outside attorney for Spring Gate, said there was no admission of liability as part of the settlement.
“Spring Gate is pleased to have put this matter behind it and remains fully committed to the health and safety of its residents,” Jordan said in a statement to McKnight’s.
MIDWEST
Drugged up cookie caper
INDIANA — A nursing home resident offered THC-laced cookies to staff in January, launching a police investigation.
While some states allow medical marijuana and ingestibles, Indiana does not. The resident at Golden LivingCenter, in LaPorte, said the cookies were from Michigan, but he did not disclose who brought him the batch. About 20 cookies were destroyed by police.
25 years for attempted rape
MISSOURI — A former nursing home employee was sentenced to 25 years in prison for the 2015 attempted rape of a co- worker.
Molokai McClenton, 37, of Florissant, was found guilty of first-degree attempted rape, sodomy and sexual abuse in December. He was accused of isolating a 23-year-old coworker while on duty at Green Valley Nursing & Rehabilitation Center and attempting to rape her.
High antipsych rates
KANSAS — Around 20% of all Kansas long-term nursing home residents received an antipsychotic medication in 2016, put- ting it at the highest rate in the country alongside Oklahoma and Mississippi, according to a new report.
Human Rights Watch visited 20 facilities in the state and 109 in total for a report on over- medication of nursing home residents with dementia. The other facilities were in Texas, California, Illinois, New York and Florida.
In 24 facilities, the researchers were asked to leave quickly and in others, staff prevented them from interviewing residents, the report said.
NORTHEAST
Dryer fire brings evacuation
PENNSYLVANIA — Three residents and a staff member were treated for smoke inhalation after a fire at a Carbondale nursing home.
Heavy smoke in the laundry room and surrounding area resulted in the evacuation of 71 residents at Creekside Health and Rehabilitation Center in February.
From the March 01, 2018 Issue of McKnight's Long-Term Care News
