Tarrytown Hall Care Center in Tarrytown, New York has received 26 citations for violations of public health law between 2015 and 2019, according to records provided by the New York State Department of Health and accessed on November 4, 2019. The citations resulted from six inspections by the Department, the public entity responsible for enforcing safety and health standards in New York nursing home facilities. The violations described in these citations include the following:
1. The nursing home failed to ensure its residents’ freedom from abuse and neglect. Nursing home facilities are required by Section 483.12 of the Federal Code to respect their residents’ right “to be free from abuse, neglect, misappropriation of personal property, and exploitation.” A January 2019 citation described Tarrytown Hall Care Center’s failure to ensure one resident’s right to be free from abuse in a situation where, after that resident struck a Certified Nursing Assistant, that assistant “responded by tossing liquid from a cup he was holding in his hand directly towards [the resident’s] upper body and face area,” then pushing that resident’s wheelchair into a hallway, where another assistant had to intervene to stop the rolling wheelchair. The citation notes that the resident in question was “severely cognitively impaired” and dependent on a wheelchair for mobility and personal assistance to move around the facility.
2. The nursing home did not ensure residents’ were free from physical restraints. Under Section 483.10 of the Federal Code, residents have the right “to be free from any physical or chemical restraints imposed for purposes of discipline or convenience, and not required to treat the resident’s medical symptoms.” A February 2019 citation states that Tarrytown Hall Care Center did not ensure this right for one of three residents. An inspector found specifically that the resident was seated near a wall in the corner of a dining room, where “tables were moved close to her” in such a manner that “prevented her from moving freely” around the room using her wheelchair. A nursing assistant was observed in surveillance footage placing the resident near the wall and moving tables around her; the assistant in question said she did so to protect the resident, who she said “could not be controlled as she kept rolling her wheelchair around the dining room.” According to the citation, the nursing home decided there was “evidence of mistreatment” of the resident.
3.The nursing home did not ensure the residents’ right to be treated with dignity and respect. Section 483.10 of the Federal Code guarantees nursing home residents the right “to a dignified existence, self-determination, and communication.” A March 2019 citation found that the nursing home failed to ensure that residents were treated with dignity and respect, specifically describing an instance in which staff entered a resident’s room “without knocking and requesting permission to enter.” An inspector observed a nursing assistant as well as a supply manager entering resident rooms without knocking, and one resident stated in an interview that “her privacy is very important to her and that nothing ever changes at this facility.” The supply manager conceded to the inspector that he knocked on resident doors when they were closed, but not when they were open.
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.
