Pelham Parkway Nursing Care and Rehabilitation Facility has received 35 citations for violations of public health code between 2018 and 2021, according to New York State Department of Health records accessed on February 25, 2022. The Bronx nursing home’s citations resulted from a total of seven surveys by state inspectors. The deficiencies they describe include the following:
1. The nursing home did not adequately prevent abuse. Under Section 483.12 of the Federal Code, nursing home residents have the right to freedom from abuse. An April 2021 citation found that Pelham Parkway Nursing Care and Rehabilitation failed to ensure such. The citation states specifically that a resident “with dementia and a history of physically aggressive behavior” was involved in several “resident-to-resident altercations in which they pushed, hit with a newspaper, punched, slapped, or hit other residents.” According to the citation, the nursing home failed to put into place interventions to protect the other residents from the aggressive resident’s abuse. The citation notes that while the resident’s care plan initially included interventions such as one-to-one monitoring, this was discontinued. In an interview, a registered nurse at the facility said they were “unable to locate or provide a rationale as to why” the previous Director of Nursing had discontinued the one-to-one monitoring in favor of 30-minute monitoring. The citation describes these incidents as a “pattern” of deficiencies that had the “potential to cause more than minimal harm.”
2. The nursing home did not adequately prevent the unnecessary use of antipsychotic drugs. Under Section 483.45 of the Federal Code, nursing homes must not administer psychotropic drugs to residents who have not used them, unless they are medically necessary, and must attempt gradual dose reductions for residents receiving them, where medically feasible. An April 2021 citation found that Pelham Parkway Nursing Care failed to ensure such. The citation states specifically that a gradual dose reduction had not been properly attempted for a resident receiving an unspecified medication. A plan of correction undertaken by the facility included the resident’s evaluation by a psychiatrist, who recommended to maintain the current dosage of the medication in question.
3. The nursing home did not implement adequate infection-prevention protocols. Section 483.80 of the Federal Code requires nursing homes to create and maintain a program designed to prevent and control infection. A February 2020 citation found that Pelham Parkway Nursing Care failed to ensure such. The citation specifically describes an instance in which certified nursing staff, an escord, a two residents, and a visitor “were observed opening the clean linen curtain and taking clean linens such as towels, gowns, blankets, and bed sheets with unwashed bare hands.” In separate incidents described by the citation, a resident’s nebulizer mask was seen making contact with a table “without a plastic barrier,” in contravention of facility policy. A plan of correction undertaken by the facility included the replacement of the linens in the relevant cart and closets, as well as the replacement fo the nebulizer mask.
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.
