The decision to place a loved one in a nursing home is not an easy one. Families place their faith in the nursing home that their loved one will receive the best quality of care. Unfortunately, this does not always happen. For example, three nursing homes in Connecticut have recently been fined for violations.
One nursing home was fined $1,160 after an incident occurred in which a resident began shouting and tried to stand up from his wheelchair. At this point, a nursing home employee pulled him from behind, so that he was forced to sit back down in his wheelchair.
A second nursing home was fined $3,000 due to seven incidents. One time a resident had to be sent to the hospital due to a nosebleed that could not be controlled. The resident was supposed to switch from one anticoagulant medication to another. However, for three days the individual was not given either medication, and then for a number of days was given both medications. This same nursing home was also cited for instances in which residents suffered from bedsores.
A third nursing home was fined $2,330 due to five incidents. One time a worker provided the wrong medication to a resident’s relative after that person was to take the resident home to spend the night. The relative was given an anti-psychotic that the resident was not prescribed and a medication for heartburn the resident was no longer supposed to be taking. The resident ended up in the intensive care unit, after suffering from an abnormally slow heartbeat.
A nursing home resident was also discovered wandering away from the nursing home, even though the resident was equipped with a sensor that was supposed to alert staff, if the resident wandered away. Another resident suffered bruises and broke a finger, the cause of which was not investigated.
The nursing home also did not investigate a situation wherein a resident claimed to be mistreated by an employee. Finally, the nursing home did not abide by a resident’s care plan, and the resident subsequently fell out of a wheelchair.
Incidents of nursing home neglect are serious. Nursing home residents may already be in a compromised state of health and need the highest quality of care possible. When a nursing home acts negligently, injured residents deserve to hold the facilities accountable.
Source: New Haven Register “East Haven nursing home among 3 in Connecticut fined for violations,” Cara Rosoner, Feb. 27, 2017
