Brooklyn-Queens Nursing Home received 15 citations for violations of public health laws between 2017 and 2021, according to New York State Department of Health records accessed on April 1, 2021. The Brooklyn nursing home’s citations resulted from a total of two inspections by state surveyors. The deficiencies they describe include the following:
1. The nursing home did not employ adequate infection-control measures. Section 483.80 of the Federal Code requires nursing homes to create and uphold a program designed to prevent and control infection. A September 2019 citation found that Brooklyn-Queens Nursing Home failed to ensure such. The citation states specifically that an inspector observed “clean linens… resting on top of the garbage can in a resident’s room,” posing an infection risk. In an interview, a Certified Nursing Assistant who was providing the resident with care while the clean linens were observed un-bagged atop a garbage can said that “he knows he should not have done that as he has received in-service on infection control procedure and protocol.” The facility’s Director of Nursing affirmed in an interview that the CNA “should never have placed the soiled linen on the garbage can” and that the CNA would be re-educated on infection control policies and procedures. A plan of correction undertaken by the facility included the immediate discarding of the linens in question.
2. The nursing home did not comply with food safety standards. Under Section 483.60 of the Federal Code, nursing home facilities must “Store, prepare, distribute and serve food in accordance with professional standards for food service safety.” A September 2019 citation found that Brooklyn-Queens Nursing Home failed to ensure such. The citation states specifically that the facility failed to ensure safe food handling and storage in connection to its emergency water supply, which “was observed covered in a thick layer of dust and spider webs.” In an interview, the facility’s Director of Building Services said the supply was kept in a locked storage room “to prevent staff from taking the water home,” that it is “rotated every 2/3 weeks,” and that it is “cleaned/wiped off before it is used.” A plan of correction undertaken by the facility included cleaning the water and moving it to a storage room in the facility’s kitchen.
3. The nursing home did not provide residents with a sufficiently clean, homelike environment. Section 483.10 of the Federal Code guarantees nursing home residents the “right to a safe, clean, comfortable and homelike environment.” A September 2019 citation found that Brooklyn-Queens Nursing Home failed to ensure such. The citation states specifically that “resident dining rooms, resident, resident privacy curtains, resident furniture, walls in resident rooms and resident restrooms” were not maintained in a clean manner and kept in good repair. The citation goes on to describe resident bathrooms “with dusty vents and pink bathroom tile with dried, ground in brown residue in the corners of the floor,” as well as a dining room with “yellow painted walls near the dining tables were observed with brown colored stains, peeling paint and white dry wall.” Another dining room in the facility was observed with a stained curtain and rusted resident table trays, and resident bedrooms were observed with peeling paint and walls in disrepair, according to the citation. A plan of correction undertaken by the facility included the in-servicing of its staff.
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.
