Parkview Care and Rehabilitation Center, a nursing home in Massapequa, Long Island, was cited in an April Department of Health certification survey for nineteen deficiencies. The most serious of these deficiencies resulted in “actual harm” to a resident. A finding of actual harm is the second most serious level of severity that the DOH assesses to a nursing home during a certification survey.
This most serious incident involved a failure to promptly notify an attending physician of the radiology findings for a resident of Parkview. Because the resident was exhibiting symptoms of pneumonia, a chest x-ray was ordered. The physician was not notified of the results, or lack thereof, of the x-ray until four days after it was taken. Nursing notes for the time between the performance of the x-ray and the and the resident’s transfer to the hospital indicate that the nurses did not check the resident’s breathing, despite the symptoms of pneumonia that had prompted the physician order for the x-ray. When the physician finally received the x-ray four days after it was performed, he became aware that the patient was suffering from a collapsed left lung. The attending immediately ordered a transfer to the hospital, where the resident was treated for his condition.
In an interview with the DOH, the attending physician indicated that it is incumbent upon the radiology department to notify him immediately of any abnormalities or dangers indicated in the x-ray. Radiology did not adhere to this protocol in this instance.
Although this incident was the most severe of those documented in the certification survey, it was far from the only one in the report. Among the other deficiencies noted by the DOH were a failure to keep the nursing home free of accident hazards, failure to provide proper treatment to prevent and/or treat pressure ulcers, and failure to ensure that residents are free from significant medication errors. There is no word yet as to whether a fine will be assessed against Parkview for these numerous deficiencies.
