A nursing home has been cited for a second death in its facility due to substandard care. The state health department identified the nursing home in a state of “immediate jeopardy”. Because of the citation, the facility is no longer allowed to accept new patients and the state threatened to remove government funding, as well as recommending fines of up to $10,000 per day.
The incident involving a second death at the facility was identified upon a follow up inspection to verify if corrections had been made. It was discovered at the follow up survey that a patient had fallen and the physician ordered the nursing staff to check the patient for any issues following the fall every two hours through the night. The patient was found dead the next morning with no evidence in the patient’s medical records that the patient had been checked every two hours.
“There was no evidence to indicate that following the fall, the facility’s policies and procedures regarding neurological checks were reviewed, and that all staff were trained on assessing and documenting a resident’s status following a fall. Facilities that fail to protect residents and meet appropriate standards of care will be held accountable,” the state health agency said in a statement. For more, read the story.
