A. Holly Patterson Extended Care Facility received 23 citations for violations of public health code between 2018 and 2022, according to New York State Department of Health records accessed on April 29, 2022. The Uniondale nursing home’s citations resulted from a total of 10 inspections by state surveyors. The deficiencies they describe include the following:
1. The nursing home did not employ adequate measures to protect residents from accidents. Section 483.25 of the Federal Code stipulates that nursing home residents have the right to an environment “as free of accident hazards as is possible.” A March 2022 citation found that A. Holly Patterson Extended Care Facility failed to ensure such. The citation specifically states that a resident with a history of substance abuse “was not supervised to prevent the availability of non-prescribed illicit drug usage within the facility.” According to the citation, the resident was admitted with a known history of using and selling illicit drugs in their previous nursing home, but the facility nonetheless “did not develop care plan interventions to monitor and supervise the resident for substance abuse.” The resident was later discovered “unresponsive and transferred to hospital for opioid drug overdose.” The citation describes this deficiency as posing “immediate jeopardy to resident health or safety.”
2. The nursing home did not take adequate measures to stave off infection. Under Section 483.30 of the Federal Code, nursing homes are required to create and uphold an infection prevention and control program designed to help protect residents from the development and spread of disease. A January 2022 citation found that A. Holly Patterson Extended Care Facility failed to ensure such. The citation specifically describes the facility’s failure to ensure that “the door to resident rooms were closed if the resident tested positive for COVID-19 infection.” It goes on to describe an instance in which a resident had signage on their door indicating that it was to be kept closed, but it was nonetheless observed open. A plan of correction undertaken by the facility included the in-servicing of relevant staff.
3. A. Holly Patterson Extended Care Facility was also cited for infection control lapses in March 2022. According to this citation, the nursing home did not have documented evidence of an annual review and/or revision process for its Legionella Water Management Plan and Environmental Assessment. In an interview, the facility’s Director of Engineering said that they “were not aware that the water management plan had to be reviewed and/or revised on an annual basis and was not clear if the environmental assessment was done by the water management company or by building staff.” The facility’s Administrator said in an interview that the facility had a new water management contractor and that in the future, the plan and assessment would be reviewed and/or revised annually.
The attorneys at the Law Offices of Thomas L. Gallivan, PLLC work diligently to protect the rights of nursing home residents. Please contact us to discuss in the event you have a potential case involving neglect or abuse.
