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Showing posts with label medical neglect. Show all posts

Saturday, May 17, 2014

State fines West Melbourne nursing home for neglect

Chuck McClung, Brevard 11:35 p.m. EDT May 6, 2014

A Brevard County nursing home was fined $36,000 after committing numerous clerical and medical errors involving a patient who eventually died, a state agency recently reported.
The Agency for Health Care Administration fined West Melbourne Health & Rehabilitation Center after finding the infractions during an administrative complaint inspection on Dec. 27.
The home will be subjected to inspections every six months for two years, the report, filed April 29, said.
A phone call to the nursing home administrator, listed as Randall Blue on the AHCA website, was not returned to FLORIDA TODAY.
During the December inspection, AHCA reported staff from the 180-bed facility failed to follow physician orders, assess bruising from an unknown source and properly administer blood-thinning drugs given to the patient.
Staff members also did not consistently update the patient’s medical charts.
AHCA questioned the use of three blood-thinning medications prescribed to the patient at the same time.
“Physicians’ notes . . . did not indicate any documentation of the rationale for the three blood-thinning medications ordered with similar effects, which would increase risk of bleeding/hemorrhage,” the report stated.
“This noncompliance (among others),” the report stated, “caused or is likely to cause, serious injury, harm, impairment or death.”
The agency’s 37-page report went on at length about bruising on the patient’s abdomen and inner thighs, an indication of internal bleeding. The nursing home staff noticed the purplish-colored skin on the patient and even discussed it, but rarely reported it on medical records or attempted any treatment for it, according to the report.
“It’s really unfortunate, because you have someone here who’s dying from neglect in the nursing home,” said Brian Lee, executive director of Families For Better Care, a national advocacy group for nursing home and assisted-living residents based in Tallahassee. “So you have a state fine of $36,000. That’s what a resident’s life has come down to in this case.”
The are no national fines for such cases, Lee said.
But, he said, the state is telling the nursing home “you have really dropped the ball here.”
The patient was admitted to the facility on Sept. 13 with heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure and a blood clot in the legs, among other disorders.
Various tests ordered by physicians were not verified on medical records, including tests to determine whether the blood-thinning medications were working.
The patient became unresponsive and was sent to a hospital Dec. 3, the report said, and likely was unconscious, suffered a severe stroke and respiratory failure related to deep-vein thrombosis (a blood clot). The patient died at the hospital Dec. 13.
A representative with AHCA said 88 Florida nursing homes were served adminstrative complaints in 2013.
The home is operated by Northport Health Services, based in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. NHS operates 42 homes across the Southeast, including three others in Florida: Crystal River Health and Rehabilitation Center, Ocala Health and Rehabilitation Center and St. Augustine Health and Rehabilitation Center.
A representative of the Florida Health Care Association, an advocacy group for more than 500 long-term care facilities in the state, would not comment on the case.

Contract McClung at cmcclung@floridatoday.com or 321-242-3776.

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Residential care home owner, employee arrested in neglect case

By Scott Butler Mon, Mar 31, 2014 @ 6:15 pm

The owner of a Jacksonville care facility and an employee have been arrested after investigators said a disabled resident was denied medical attention.
Leathia Bonner, owner of Herlea’s Residential Care Group Home at 3334 Sheridan Road, and staff member Linda Ginn are charged with neglect of a disabled adult, according to the Florida Attorney General’s Office, whose Medicaid Fraud Control Unit led the investigation.
The unit began its investigation after receiving information from the Department of Children and Families about the facility. Bonner, 47, and Ginn, 59, are accused of failing to provide medical attention to a group home resident who was subsequently hospitalized and is recovering, the Attorney General’s Office said.
Bonner and Ginn each face up to five years in prison and $5,000 in fines if convicted.

Thursday, February 13, 2014

Nursing Home Medication Errors Leading to Hospitalizations

By Chris Coffey

| Tuesday, Feb 4, 2014 | Updated 10:41 PM CST

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Medication errors in Illinois nursing homes are leading to hospitalizations for dangerously low blood sugar, visual hallucinations and labored breathing, according to information obtained by NBC 5 Investigates via a search of public records. Chris Coffey reports.

State health inspectors documented 384 nursing home medication errors since 2011. Two residents of care facilities died after recorded medication errors and one resident's untreated infection led to an amputation, according to Illinois Department of Public Health data.

"You're going to have errors, unfortunately. But we hope that there are no errors due to negligence," said IDPH director LaMar Hasbrouck, MD.

Tanya Karney-Brown moved her brother, Joseph, into The Renaissance Park South nursing home in Roseland back in 2005 after Joseph had suffered a stroke and a heart attack.

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"We checked it out. Everything was fine. So we felt that would be the perfect place," Karney-Brown said.

Two years later Joseph was diagnosed with gastrointestinal cancer. Karney-Brown said Joseph responded well to his cancer medication, Gleevac.

Months later, however, Joseph's condition changed.

His family discovered the nursing home did not give Joseph his cancer medication for nearly one year. According to a lawsuit filed by the family, the nursing home failed to get Joseph back to his oncologist for follow up appointments.

By the time the error was noticed, Joseph's cancer had spread. Joseph passed away in early 2010.

"He could have been still here, you know, doing what he does best and getting better," Karney-Brown said. "But now unfortunately, he's not here anymore."

Joseph's family filed a lawsuit and reached a settlement with the nursing home.

"We regret that the incident occurred and used it as an opportunity to better ourselves and the care we provide," wrote The Renaissance Park South administrator Rolando Carter in a statement to NBC 5 Investigates.

According to Carter, the facility has since partnered with a national pharmaceutical provider to ensure proper distribution of medication to each resident they serve. He wrote the facility also performs regular audits to ensure medications are being dispensed properly and timely.

"Our top priority is the health and safety of our residents and we take every precaution to ensure that highest level of care," Carter wrote.

Hasbrouck said Illinois currently has a 9% facility citation rate for medication errors. He said that compares "favorably" to the national average. However, Hasbrouck said the state's goal is a 5% citation rate.

"We can do better and that's one of the reasons why we've stiffened some of the requirements," Hasbrouck said.

Health inspectors monitor care facilities' training standards and operating procedures and systems for protection in terms of medications. Facilities face fines and penalties for documented medication errors. They can also be shut down or not re-certified

Sometimes handwriting can cause errors in terms of dosage, Hasbrouck said. The errors can result in a resident getting the wrong medication, too much medication or not enough medication.

"They (nurses) have to be very, vigilant in terms of how they give it and make sure they give it on time, every time so that we can minimize any risk," Hasbrouck said.

Nursing homes in Illinois provide care to more than 85,000 people who on average take 10 prescription medicines per day, according to the Health Care Council of Illinois. "The stakes are high in any healthcare setting, and human error exists in every profession-in every aspect of society," said HCCI executive director Pat Comstock. "Nursing home professionals work hard every day in an effort to eliminate it."

The Illinois Health Care Association is an advocacy group that represents care facilities across the state. IHCA president John Vrba said the long term care sector has done a lot of work trying to prevent medication errors.

"We don't want any medication error. One medication error is one too many," Vrba said.

Vrba said underfunding in Medicaid does not help the cause, but he said collaborative work with the state is needed to combat medication errors. He said continued education for nurses and limited interruptions during medication passes will help limit mistakes.

Nursing homes are also hiring admissions nurses with advanced skill sets and using automated medication dispensers in their efforts to cut down on medication errors. Facility staff members are also using TALL MAN letters, Vrba said, to differentiate look-alike drug names. For example, noting predniSONE as opposed to prednisoLONE.

"This is just another way that I believe all facilities throughout the state or anybody passing a medication should utilize to prevent an error," Vrba said.

The state urges families to research a facility's complaint and citation history before placing a loved one in a care facility.

"Safety and quality of care is a collective responsibility," Hasbrouck said. "The family has a responsibility to do their due diligence."

Karney-Brown said once your loved one is in a nursing home, go visit them often and show up unannounced.

"If something feels off, I think you should ask the question and find out right away," Karney-Brown said. "Don't just take yes for an answer or no for an answer."

Source: http://www.nbcchicago.com/investigations/Nursing-Home-Medication-Errors-Leading-to-Hospitalizations-243618471.html#ixzz2tCjBe4MZ

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