Dry Harbor Nursing Home suffered 13 fatalities from Covid-19 as of June 29, 2020, state records report. The nursing home also received 18 citations over violations of public health code between 2016 and 2020, according to health records accessed on June 29, 2020. One of these citations found that the nursing home’s infection control procedures fell short. The Middle Village nursing home’s citations resulted from a total of 2 surveys by state inspectors. The violations they describe include the following:
1. The nursing home did not employ adequate measures to prevent and control infection. Section 483.80 of the Federal Code requires nursing homes to create and maintain an infection prevention and control program designed to mitigate the development and spread of disease. A January 2019 citation found that Dry Harbor Nursing Home failed to ensure such. The citation states specifically that one of the facility’s Licensed Practical Nurses did not change a resident’s brief following a wound care treatment. The citation states further that the LPN did not properly apply treatment cream to the resident’s wound site. In an interview, the LPN acknowledged that he should have applied the cream differently, and that the use of a clean diaper “would have been better in keeping with infection control practices.”
2. The nursing home did not properly dispose of garbage. Section 483.60 of the Federal Code stipulates that nursing homes must “dispose of garbage and refuse properly.” An April 2017 citation found that Dry Harbor Nursing Home did not do so. The citation states specifically that an inspector observed a Dietary Aide bring a garbage bag and garbage can to the facility’s compactor, whose door was already open, then throw garbage bags into the compactor and leave without closing the door. An inspector also observed a second instance in which the compactor door was left open. In an interview, the facility’s Director of Food Service stated that the facility had no policy regarding the opening and closing of the compactor door. A plan of correction undertaken by the facility included the revision of policy to ensure the door remained “closed at all times.”
3. The nursing home did not adequately remove staff whose criminal history reviews resulted in negative determinations. Section 402.7 of the Federal Code stipulates that nursing homes must immediately remove staff who receive a negative determination letter in their criminal history review. An April 2017 citation found that Dry Harbor Nursing Home did not ensure such. The citation states specifically that although the facility received a Pending Denial to Provider Letter concerning one of its Certified Nursing Assistants on January 23, 2017, records show that the staffer continued working in patient care areas until March 19, 2017. In an interview, the facility’s Director of Medical Records and Personnel stated that “she did not know that the employee needed to be removed from direct care on receipt of negative determination letters.”
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.
