Rebekah Rehab and Extended Care Center received 10 citations for violations of public health code between 2017 and 2021, according to New York State Department of Health records accessed on September 3, 2021. The Bronx nursing home’s citations resulted from a total of three surveys by state inspectors. The violations they describe include the following:
1. The nursing home did not implement adequate measures to control infection. Section 483.30 of the Federal Code stipulates that nursing homes must create and maintain an infection prevention and control program to prevent the development and spread of viruses and disease. An August 2017 citation found that Rebekah Rehab and Extended Care Center failed to ensure such. The citation specifically describes a Licensed Practical Nurse who “did not remove gloves, perform hand hygiene and don’t clean gloves” after cleansing a resident’s pressure ulcer. In an interview after the procedure, the nurse stated, “I thought I was washing my hands as needed in regard to washing my hands and changing my gloves.” A plan of correction undertaken by the facility included the re-education of the staffer and the observation of other nursing staffers “to ensure that they were following appropriate wound care techniques.”
2. The nursing home did not adequately protect residents from unnecessary medication use. Section 483.45 of the Federal Code stipulates that nursing home residents have the right to be free from the use of psychotropic drugs that are not necessary to treat a specific, diagnosed, documented condition. A March 2019 citation found that Rebekah Rehab and Extended Care Center failed to ensure such. The citation specifically described a number of residents on medication for a redacted condition even though they had no prior history of the condition and “there were no proper documentation on how the facility monitor behavioral symptoms.” The citation describes a “pattern” of deficiencies that had the “Potential to cause more than minimal harm.” It does not describe any plan of correction undertaken by the facility.
3. The nursing home did not adequately conduct fire drills. Section 101 of the Life Safety Code stipulates that nursing homes must conduct fire drills “at expected and unexpected times under varying conditions.” A March 2019 citation found that Rebekah Rehab and Extended Care Center failed to ensure such. The citation states specifically that the facility did not ensure its fire drills “were conducted under varying dates.” The facility’s Administrator and Director stated that moving forward, fire drills will be varied by time and by month. A plan of correction undertaken by the facility included the development of a tool “to ensure that fire drills are conducted monthly throughout different periods of the month.”
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.