Richmond Center for Rehabilitation and Specialty Healthcare received 19 citations for violations of public health code between 2016 and 2020, according to New York State Department of Health records accessed on July 22, 2020. It has also received four enforcement actions resulting in cumulative fines of $42,000, connected to findings that it violated health code provisions concerning resident behavior, investigations, accidents, and more. The Staten Island nursing home’s citations resulted from a total of three surveys by state inspectors. The deficiencies they describe include the following:
1. The nursing home did not properly mitigate the risk of infection. Section 483.80 of the Federal Code requires nursing homes to create and maintain programs to prevent and control infection. A January 2019 citation found that Richmond Center for Rehabilitation and Specialty Healthcare did not ensure such. The citation specifically describes a respiratory therapist who performed suctioning on a resident without practicing proper hand hygiene. According to the citation, the therapist put on a pair of gloves and started suctioning the resident without first washing his hands. In an interview, the therapist “acknowledged that he didn’t wash hands prior to donning gloves and performing suctioning of the resident.” A plan of correction undertaken by the facility included the counseling and re-in-servicing of the respiratory therapist.
2. The nursing home did not take adequate measures to prevent accidents. Section 483.25 of the Federal Code requires nursing homes to provide residents with an environment as free as is possible from accident hazards. A June 2017 citation found that Richmond Center for Rehabilitation and Specialty Healthcare failed to ensure such. The citation states specifically that “a portion of the hand rail outside of the 2nd floor dining room was observed missing, exposing a portion of metal.” Another observation of a 3rd floor dining area bathroom found that “the handrail to the right side, behind the toilet seat” had a “sharp exposed metal plate.” In an interview, the facility’s Director of Maintenance said that “no one had reported any issues with the metal plate behind the toilet and that the sharp plate would be covered to prevent resident injury.”
3. An April 2019 citation also found that Richmond Center for Rehabilitation and Specialty Healthcare failed to adequately prevent accidents. The citation states specifically that the facility did not provide a resident with adequate supervision to prevent elopement. The resident, who had been assessed as at “high risk for elopement and was placed on hourly monitoring,” eloped from the nursing home “undetected by staff.” The staff became aware of the resident’s elopement when one of the resident’s family members reported to the facility that the resident “was at home.” The resident was later returned to the facility with no injury or other forms of distress or discomfort. A plan of correction undertaken by the facility included the disciplining and re-in-servicing of staff responsible for conducting resident rounds, and the placement of a new wander guard device on the resident.
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.
