(914) 220-1086Bishop Rehabilitation and Nursing Center suffered nine coronavirus deaths as of May 17, 2020, per state records. The nursing home also received 109 citations for violations of public health code between 2016 and 2020, according to New York State Department of Health records accessed on May 18, 2020. The facility has additionally received eight enforcement actions, including: a 2018 fine of $24,000 in connection to findings it violated unspecified health code provisions; a 2016 fine of $10,000 in connection to findings in a 2016 inspection that it violated health code provisions regarding pressure sores; and a 2016 fine of $10,000 in connection to findings in a 2016 inspection that it violated health code provisions regarding accidents. The Syracuse nursing home’s citations resulted from a total of 15 surveys by state inspectors. These citations include several for alleged violations of Section 483.80 of the Federal Code, which requires nursing homes establish and implement infection control practices. Those three citations include:
1. An August 2019 citation found that the nursing home did not ensure proper hand hygiene was performed during the administration of medication. An inspector specifically observed a Licensed Practical Nurse prepare medications for a resident without performing hand hygiene. The LPN was observed removing blister packs from her cart while touching her computer and mouse, then helping the resident back into his wheelchair after he fell, obtaining his vital signs, returning to her cart, removing pills from blister packs, placing them in a cup, and giving them to the resident, all without performing hand hygiene. The LPN was then observed pushing the cart to another resident’s doorway, removing blister packs from the cart, popping pills into a cup, touching her computer mouse, pouring water into a up, moving the resident’s overbed table, and handing him the pills and some water, then returning to her cart without performing hand hygiene. A plan of correction undertaken by the facility included educating the LPN on proper hand washing technique.
2. A November 2018 citation found that Bishop Rehabilitation and Nursing Center did not timely execute isolation precautions when a resident tested positive for antibiotic-resistant MRSA. The citation states that the positive results were received on December 16. 2017, but that isolation precautions were not implemented until a day later, on December 17, 2017. In an interview, a Registered Nurse told an inspector that “if a specimen came back positive… precautions should have been started immediately,” including the placement of the resident on “droplet precautions and protective equipment.” A plan of correction undertaken by the facility included the reeducation of nursing staff on isolation infection control procedures.
3. A June 2018 citation found that Bishop Rehabilitation and Nursing Center did not properly use personal protective equipment when entering the room of a resident who was on contact precautions. The resident’s medical condition is redacted from the citation, though it states that interventions in the resident’s care plan included the wearing of gowns and masks when changing the resident’s contaminated linens. The citation goes on to state that a bed maker was observed entering the resident’s room without wearing a gown, mask, or gloves, even though an isolation supply bag hung on the door to the room, and there was a sign on the wall specifying that the room was on contact precautions. The bed maker was observed with the front of her scrub top rubbing against the bed’s footboard, according to the citation; then, she was observed placing her left hand on the bed as she made it. After a nurse called the bed maker from the doorway and informed her she needed to wear a gown and gloves, the bed maker exited the room. In an interview, she said “she had no training on isolation precautions.”
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.
