New York Nursing Home Isabella Geriatric Center Cited for Failure to Prevent Accidents

Isabella Geriatric Center has received 21 citations for violations of public health code between 2018 and 2022, according to New York State Department of Health records accessed on April 1, 2022. The Manhattan nursing home’s citations resulted from a total of 5 surveys by state inspectors. The deficiencies they describe include the following:

1. The nursing home did not adequately protect residents from accidents. Section 483.25 of the Federal Code stipulates that nursing homes must provide residents with adequate supervision to prevent accidents. A July 2021 citation found that Isabela Geriatric Center failed to ensure such. The citation specifically describes an instance in which a resident being escorted to an outside appointment was not secured in their chair with a safety belt. As a result, the citation states, the resident slid from their chair to the floor of an ambulette, sustaining “bilateral fractures of the lower extremities.” A plan of correction undertaken by the facility included the re-education of relevant staff.

2. The nursing home did not adequately protect residents from unnecessary drugs. Under Section 483.45 of the Federal Code, nursing home residents have the right to drug regimens “free from unnecessary drugs.” A November 2020 citation found that Isabela Geriatric Center failed to ensure such. The citation specifically describes an instance in which the facility did not ensure its physician was notified when a resident’s blood glucose levels exceeded 300 mg/dL. In an interview, a Licensed Practical Nurse stated that staff call the facility’s physician when residents’ blood sugar levels exceed 300 mg/dL, adding that “she did not remember why the physician was not informed, and she may have skipped it.” A plan of correction undertaken by the facility included the re-education of relevant staff.

3. The nursing home did not employ adequate infection-prevention measures. Section 483.80 of the Federal Code stipulates that nursing homes must work to prevent the spread of transmissible disease by creating and upholding an infection prevention and control program. A November 2020 citation found that Isabela Geriatric Center failed to ensure such. The citation states specifically that a staff member was seen “entering the room of a resident on contact isolation precautions… without donning Personal Protective Equipment.” The citation goes on to describe CDC guidelines requiring the donning of PPE in such circumstances. In an interview, the nurse in question stated that “she did not gown up because she had to run inside to help the resident with the urinal before he falls.” A plan of correction undertaken by the facility included the counseling and re-education of the nurse in question.

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