Grandell Rehabilitation and Nursing Center received 22 citations for violations of public health code between 2016 and 2020, according to New York State Department of Health records accessed on March 5, 2020. The facility has also been the subject of a 2018 fine of $12,000 in connection to findings during a 2018 inspection that it violated unspecified health code provisions; a 2016 fine of $16,000 in connection to findings during a 2013 inspection that it violated health code provisions regarding quality of care, administration, and quality assessment and assurance; a 2011 fine of $34,000 in connection to findings that it violated health code provisions regarding medically related social services, accident hazards, resident well-being, administration, and hydration; and a 2010 fine of $2,000 in connection to findings that it violated health code provisions regarding quality of care and nutrition. The Long Beach nursing home’s citations resulted from a total of five surveys by state inspectors. The deficiencies they describe include the following:
1. The nursing home did not ensure residents were protected from abuse. Section 483.12 of the Federal Code requires nursing homes to ensure residents’ right “to be free from abuse, neglect, misappropriation of resident property, and exploitation.” A May 2018 citation found that Grandell Rehabilitation and Nursing Center did not ensure this right for one resident. The citation states specifically that one of the facility’s Recreation Aides “intentionally threw water” at a resident with a redacted diagnosis. The citation states that the RA admitted to throwing water at the resident. A plan of correction undertaken by the facility included the termination of the staff member in question.
2. The nursing home did not ensure residents adequately received care in accordance with their plans of care. Section 483.21 of the Federal Code requires nursing homes to provide or arrange care and services that are “provided by qualified persons in accordance with each resident’s written plan of care.” A March 2018 citation found that Grandell Rehabilitation and Nursing Center did not ensure such for one resident reviewed for pressure ulcers. The citation states specifically that whereas the resident’s plan of care documented for an intervention involving the use of “float heels on a pillow while in bed,” an inspector observed the resident “on multiple occasions in bed with bare feet and heels resting directly on the mattress.” The citation states further that staff reported that the resident refused to use the heels, but that this refusal was not documented in the care plan.
3. The nursing home did not meet fire safety standards. Section 101 of the Life Safety Code states that nursing homes must inspect, test, and maintain sprinkler systems in accordance with certain standards. A March 2018 citation found that Grandell Rehabilitation and Nursing Center did not comply with this section. The citation states specifically that dry sprinklers which had been in service for a redacted number of years were supposed to be replaced “or representative samples shall be tested and then retested at 10-year intervals,” however, according to the citation, the facility did not provide evidence that this requirement was met. In an interview, the facility’s Director of Maintenance said that “the sprinkler company would be contacted to change out the dry type sprinkler heads.”
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.
