Between 2015 and 2019, Adira at Riverside Rehabilitation and Nursing received 37 citations for violations of public health laws, according to records accessed on November 2, 2019. The Department of Health is the public entity responsible for inspecting nursing homes every 9 to 15 months to ensure compliance with state and federal health and safety laws. Adira at Riverside’s 37 citations, which resulted from three inspections, were five more than the statewide average of 32. The Yonkers nursing home’s citations include the following:
1. The nursing home failed to provide proper provide treatment and services sufficient to prevent and heal pressure ulcers and bedsores. A citation issued on December 2017, found that Adira at Riverside failed to ensure that one of three residents inspected was provided with appropriate care of pressure ulcers. Section 483.25 of the Federal Code requires that nursing homes provide residents with care adequate to prevent pressure ulcers unless otherwise unavoidable given their condition, and further, that residents suffering from pressure ulcers receive necessary treatment and services to prevent infection or the development of new ulcers. The Department of Health states specifically that the facility did not properly inflate an air mattress to the manufacturer’s recommended amount so as to provide the patient with “optimum pressure relief” while they were in bed. A surveyor found that whereas the resident’s weight was recorded as 109.6 pounds, the control box regulating the air mattress was set at 200 pounds, and that facility staff were unaware who had set the air pressure at that level or who was responsible for ensuring proper mattress inflation.
2. The nursing home did not meet food safety requirements. Section 483.60 of the Federal Code requires that nursing home facilities “procure food from sources approved or considered satisfactory by federal, state or local authorities” and ensure the professional storage, preparation, distribution and service of that food. A December 2017 citation found that Adira at Riverside failed to ensure that “food contact and non-food contact equipment and kitchenware” were maintained by the facility under sanitary conditions that aligned with food service safety standards. Specifically, the department found that cleaned pots and pans were being stored on a drying rack whose shelf protector “was visibly soiled… and sticky to touch,” as well as that various sanitized sheet pans and a floor mixer were soiled with debris. A Chef Manager interviewed during the inspection stated that the drying rack had not been cleaned as scheduled that week, and that the mixer should have been cleaned by a cook.
3. The nursing home did not properly install its sprinkler system. Section 101 of the Life Safety Code stipulates that nursing home facilities must be “protected throughout by an approved automatic sprinkler system” compliant with safety standards. An August 2019 survey of Adira at Riverside found that it “did not ensure that automatic sprinklers were installed in all areas in the facility.” The survey specifically noted an absence of sprinkler coverage beneath the facility’s exterior overhang attached to the building over its terrace and patio doors. The Department of Health found in a closer examination of the patio that its “fabric type awning was attached to a metal frame above the double doors,” and that while the awning was more than four feet wide and attached to the building exterior, it did not have sprinkler coverage.
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.
