(914) 220-1086Rockville Skilled Nursing & Rehabilitation Center received 18 citations for violations of public health code between 2016 and 2020, according to New York State Department of Health records accessed on March 14, 2020. The Rockville Centre 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 adequately treat and care for residents’ pressure ulcers and bedsores. Section 483.25 of the Federal Code requires nursing homes ensure that residents with pressure ulcers receive “necessary treatment and services to promote healing, prevent infection and prevent new sores from developing.” A December 2017 citation found that Rockville Skilled Nursing & Rehabilitation Center did not ensure one resident with pressure ulcers received such. The citation states specifically that although a nurse noted the resident’s bilateral heels had “discoloration and were soft and tender,” the Registered Nurse’s full assessment of that resident’s heels “was not relayed to the physician in a timely manner, resulting in a delay in treatment.” In an interview, the Registered Nurse Supervisor stated that she had assessed the resident and documented her findings, but “forgot to write a progress note,” and then passed the findings to a wound nurse. In an interview, that nurse stated that she told the RN supervisor that a note had to be put in the resident’s medical record, and further that told the facility’s Assistant Director of Nursing Services about the resident’s condition, who “wanted to wait for the progress note to be written.”
2. The nursing home did not take adequate measures to prevent residents from being administered unnecessary psychotropic drugs. Section 483.45 of the Federal Code requires nursing homes to ensure that “Residents who have not used psychotropic drugs are not given these drugs unless the medication is necessary to treat a specific condition as diagnosed and documented in the clinical record.” A December 2017 citation found that Rockville Skilled Nursing & Rehabilitation Center did not ensure residents taking medication for a redacted condition received gradual dose reductions, “unless clinically contraindicated, in an effort to discontinue these drugs.” The citation specifically describes one resident who was prescribed an antipsychotic medication, Quetiapine, and whose psychiatrist and pharmacy consultant “both recommended a tapering of the medication.” However, according to the citation, “there was no documented evidence that the physician took any action” to implement this recommendation. A plan of correction undertaken by the facility included the implementation of the drug’s dose reduction.
3. The nursing home did not take adequate measures to prevent and control infection. Section 483.80 of the Federal Code requires nursing homes to establish and maintain an infection prevention and control program that helps prevent the transmission of diseases and infections. A December 2017 citation found that Rockville Skilled Nursing & Rehabilitation Center failed to comply with this requirement. The citation specifically states that the facility’s charge nurses on its third and fourth floor nursing units cleaned blood glucose monitors after use with alcohol prep pads rather than germicidal wipes. In an interview, the facility’s Director of Nursing Services stated that those devices must be cleaned with germicidal wipes, and that the nurses in question would be in-serviced regarding proper cleaning practices.
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.
