Midway Nursing Home received 34 citations for violations of public health laws between 2015 and 2019, according to New York State Department of Health records accessed on January 2, 2020. The Maspeth nursing home’s citations resulted from a total of six inspections by state surveyors, and number two more than the statewide average of 32 citations. The violations they describe include the following:
1. The nursing home did not provide adequate supervision to prevent residents from experiencing accidents such as elopement. Section 483.25 of the Federal Code states that nursing home facilities must provide an environment as free as possible from accident hazards. A December 2016 citation found that Midway Nursing Home failed to comply with this citation by providing inadequate supervision to prevent a resident from eloping from the facility. The citation states specifically that the resident had been “identified at risk for elopement and had a wander guard in place.” However, according to the citation, the resident in question “walked out of the facility unknown to staff.” In an interview, the facility’s Director of Nursing stated that the resident’s monitoring “should have been increased.” In another interview, the facility’s administrator stated that a surveillance camera had not recorded any data, but he “was not aware that the camera was not reco[r]ding.” The citation notes that this deficiency had the “potential to cause more than minimal harm.”
2. The nursing home did not take adequate measures prevent and control the transmission of infection. Under Section 483.80 of the Federal Code, nursing homes must “establish and maintain an infection prevention and control program” that ensures residents a “safe, sanitary and comfortable environment.” An April 2017 citation found that the nursing home failed to comply with this section in two instances. In one, an inspector observed a Licensed Practical Nurse neglecting to clean a reusable blood glucose finger-stick meter between residents. In another, an inspector observed four separate facility nurses using “improper handwashing techniques” while providing care to residents, including during the administration of medication and wound care. The citation states that these deficiencies had the “potential to cause more than minimal harm.”
3. The nursing home did not provide food in a form that met residents’ needs. Section 483.35 of the Federal Code states that nursing home facilities must provide reach resident with food “prepared in a form designed to meet individual needs.” A January 2016 citation found that the resident did not ensure two residents were provided with such. According to the citation, the two residents were identified as requiring a “chopped diet.” Both were observed by an inspector with meal trays containing food that was not chopped. In an interview, one of the facility’s cooks stated that “they always serve the same vegetables they serve to the regular diets to the chopped diets” and that “he doesn’t chop the vegetables.” Meanwhile, the facility’s Registered Dietitian told an inspector that “they do not have a policy and procedure on chopped diets.”
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.
