Jeanne Jugan Residence received 19 citations for violations of public health laws between 2015 and 2019, according to records provided by the New York State Department of Health and accessed on November 14, 2019. The Bronx nursing home also received a Federal Civil Money Penalty of $8,518.25 for citations found on a March 9, 2018 survey, according to the Long Term Care Community Coalition. Federal Civil Money Penalties are one of several remedies state and federal authorities are empowered to assess when nursing home facilities are found to fall short of minimum health and safety standards. Jeanne Jugan Residence’s 19 citations result from three inspections by state inspectors. The violations they describe include the following:
1. The facility did not ensure an environment free of accident hazards. Under Section 483.25 of the Federal Code, nursing home facilities must provide an environment as free as possible from accident hazards, and with adequate supervision and assistive devices to ensure that residents do not sustain accidents. A March 9, 2018 inspection found that Jeanne Jugan Residence’s staff failed to adequately train and supervise a Certified Nursing Assistant to ensure that a resident’s care plan was implemented in such a manner that would prevent them from sustaining an injury. The resident specifically required the assistant of two persons “when applying a sling for stand up lift while sitting in bed, and floor mats were to be at bedside to prevent injury from falls.” The inspection found that the CNA tried to assist the resident without a second staffer’s assistance, and apparently without floor mats in place. As a consequence of this lapse, the resident fell from their bed and sustained harm to their clavicle.
2. The nursing home did not properly ensure the prevention and control of infection. Section 483.80 of the Federal Code mandates that nursing home facilities “must establish and maintain an infection prevention and control program designed to provide a safe, sanitary and comfortable environment and to help prevent the development and transmission of communicable diseases and infections.” A March 9, 2018 survey found that Jeanne Jugan Residence failed to develop a plan “to identify where Legionella and other opportunistic waterborne pathogen could grow and spread” throughout the nursing home’s water systems. The facility’s Director of Nursing told a state inspector that they did not perform testing because they did not believe they were required to unless they already suspected there was a problem with the water supply.
3. The nursing home did not ensure the proper storage and labeling of drugs and biologicals. Section 483.45 of the Federal Code requires nursing homes to label drugs and biologicals “accordance with currently accepted professional principles, and include the appropriate accessory and cautionary instructions, and the expiration date.” During a March 9, 2018 inspection, an inspector observed an opened and undated insulin vial. A Licensed Practical Nurse interviewed at the time stated that insulin was required to be dated once it was opened, and she had not been informed there was a problem with the insulin vial in question. The inspector found that this violation had “potential to cause more than minimal harm.”
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.
