New York State Veterans Home at Montrose: Infection Citation, Covid Deaths

New York State Veterans Home at Montrose: Infection Citation, Covid Deaths

New York State Veterans Home at Montrose suffered 13 fatalities from Covid-19 as of July 18, 2020, per state records. The nursing home also received 26 citations finding it violated public health code between 2016 and 2020, according to health records accessed on July 20, 2020. One of those citations detailed findings of deficient infection control practices. The Montrose nursing home’s citations resulted from a total of five surveys by state inspectors. The violations they describe include the following:

1. The nursing home did not employ adequate measures to prevent and control infection. Under Section 483.80 of the Federal Code, nursing home facilities are required to establish and maintain a program to prevent and control infection, one that is adequately designed to ensure residents a safe and sanitary environment. An August 2016 survey found that New York State Veterans Home at Montrose did not ensure the effective establishment and/or maintenance of an infection prevention and control program. The survey lacks additional detail on the citation, though it specifies that the scope of the deficiency was “widespread” and “pervasive throughout the facility”; that it had caused no actual harm and put no residents in immediate jeopardy, although it “has caused minor discomfort and has the potential to cause more than minimal harm”; and that it was corrected by the facility as of November 5, 2016.

2. The nursing home did not adequately prevent the administration of unnecessary drugs. Section 483.45 of the Federal Code stipulates that nursing home residents’ “drug regimen[s] must be free from unnecessary drugs.” A February 2017 citation found that New York State Veterans Home at Montrose did not ensure such for one resident. The citation states specifically that the facility did not re-evaluate the resident’s indication for the use of an antidepressant to treat anorexia “in light of the resident’s steady and sustained weight loss.” The citation goes on to state that while the resident’s records documented the resident’s “weight loss and poor oral intake,” it did not document the effectiveness of the resident’s medication. In an interview, the resident’s primary care physician told a surveyor “that the resident is being worked up for potential cause of the resident’s steady weight loss and that he could not certainly consider discontinuing the medication.” A plan of correction undertaken by the facility included the tapering and discontinuation of the medication.

3. The nursing home did not ensure an adequate quality of life and care for its residents. Section 483.24 of the Federal Code requires nursing homes to provide a level  of care and services that allows residents to “attain or maintain the highest practicable physical, mental, and psychosocial well-being.” A February 2017 citation found that New York State Veterans Home at Montrose failed to ensure such. The citation specifically describes a resident who was receiving a redacted treatment and as such had been placed on a fluid restriction. According to the citation, the resident’s fluid allowance, as calculated by the dietician, “was not implemented to prevent potential for fluid overload,” and did not include the protein supplement which the resident took three times each day. A plan of correction undertaken by the facility included the recalculation of the resident’s fluid allowance “to allow for a more liberalized fluid intake.”

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.