St. Johnland Nursing Center Cited for Accidents

St. Johnland Nursing Center received 35 citations for violations of public health code between 2018 and 2022, according to New York State Department of Health records accessed on May 6, 2022. The Kings Park nursing home’s citations resulted from a total of nine inspections by state surveyors. The deficiencies they describe include the following:

1. The nursing home did not effectively prevent accidents. Section 483.25 of the Federal Code stipulates that nursing homes must provide residents with adequate supervision to prevent accidents. A July 2020 citation found that St. Johnland Nursing Center failed to ensure such. The citation specifically describes the facility’s failure to implement “an effective system in place to monitor and supervise residents at risk for elopement and unsafe wandering behaviors.” It goes on to describe a resident with a history of elopement whom facility staff “did not supervise… as directed,” and who subsequently “was able to pass two alarmed doors to successfully elope from the facility.” The resident was later found “approximately 2.8 miles away walking down the road.” The citation describes this deficiency as posing “Immediate jeopardy to resident health or safety.” A plan of correction undertaken by the facility included the termination of  of a registered nurse responsible for providing the resident with enhanced supervision.
2. The nursing home did not provide adequate quality of care. Under Section 483.25 of the Federal Code, nursing homes must ensure residents “treatment and care in accordance with professional standards of practice, the comprehensive person-centered care plan, and the residents’ choices.” An April 2021 citation found that St. Johnland Nursing Center failed to ensure such. The citation specifically describes an instance in which a resident was found suffering a grand mal seizure, and the nurses who responded to the incident “paged the RN supervisor twice so an RN assessment can be performed before initiating a call to EMS,” with the RN supervisor arriving 18 minutes after the seizure began. According to the citation, the facility’s physician “was not called until EMS was onsite,” and “The resident continued to seize during transfer to hospital and subsequently died at hospital the following day.” In an interview, the facility’s Director of Nursing said that “the staff should have called the MD and if the staff were unable to reach the MD, then they should have called 911.” A plan of correction undertaken by the facility included the suspension of staff who failed to timely respond to the incident.

St. Johnland Nursing Center received 37 citations for violations of public health code between 2016 and 2020, according to New York State Department of Health records accessed on April 11, 2020. The facility has also received a 2019 fine of $2,000 in connection to findings in a 2019 inspection that it violated unspecified health code provisions. The Kings Park nursing home’s citations resulted from a total of five surveys by state inspectors. The deficiencies they describe include the following:

1. The nursing home did not adequately protect residents from abuse. Section 483.12 of the Federal Code gives nursing home residents “the right to be free from abuse.” A January 2019 citation found that St. Johnland Nursing Center did not ensure such for one resident. The citation states specifically that one resident demonstrated a “history” of chasing after another, female resident “with a show in his hand.” The citation describes an incident in which the male resident “aggressively grabbed” the female resident’s wheelchair, “causing her to fall to the floor” in an “altercation” which lasted for more than 13 minutes and which staff did not witness, according to the citation. A plan of correction undertaken by the facility included the counseling of staff responsible for monitoring the aggressor resident, who was “placed on 1:1 supervision” for a period of two weeks.
2. The nursing home did not employ adequate measures to prevent the development of bedsores / pressure ulcers. Section 483.25 of the Federal Code stipulates that nursing home facilities must provide a level of care that prevents pressure ulcers from developing unless an individual’s condition renders such unavoidable. A December 2016 citation found that St. Johnland Nursing Center did not ensure such. The citation states specifically that when a resident’s Stage 1 pressure ulcer declined to a Stage 3 pressure ulcer, “there was no documented evidence” that it was unavoidable. A plan of correction undertaken by the facility included the reassessment of the resident for his pressure ulcer and the revision of his care plan.
3. The nursing home did not implement adequate measures to prevent accidents. Section 483.25 of the Federal Code stipulates that nursing home residents must receive “adequate supervision and assistance devices to prevent accidents.” A July 2019 citation found that St. Johnland Nursing Center did not provide residents with adequate supervision. The citation describes specifically a resident’s complaint that “facility staff did not communicate the resident’s need for supervision during toileting to maintain the resident’s safety,” and as such the resident was “left unattended” while toileting, which resulted in “the development of redness” to their head as well as a visit to the emergency room. A plan of correction undertaken by the facility included the updating of the resident’s care plan, care profile, and occupational therapy notes, as well as the in-servicing of the facility’s occupational therapist with respect to the communication of treatment plans.

Helping Victims of Nursing Home Abuse & Neglect in New York

The New York Nursing Home Neglect and Abuse Lawyers 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.