The Chateau at Brooklyn Rehabilitation and Nursing Center received 35 citations for violations of public health laws between 2015 and 2019, according to New York State Department of Health records accessed on December 7, 2019. The facility was also the subject of a 2016 fine of $14,000 in connection to “multiple deficiencies” described in a May 2012 survey, including deficiencies in the quality of care provided to residents and in the nursing home’s quality assessment and assurance protocols. The Brooklyn nursing home’s citations resulted from a total of five inspections by state authorities. The violations they describe include the following:
1. The nursing home did not ensure sufficiently low medication error rates. Section 483.45 of the Federal Code stipulates that nursing home facilities must maintain medication error rates below five percent. A December 2016 citation found that the nursing home failed to stay below this threshold. An inspector specifically found that a resident “did not receive medications ordered for [a] specific diagnosis” in connection to “2 of 26 medication opportunities,” leading to a medication error rate of 7.4 percent. According to the citation, a nurse did not administer a certain medication, stating later that she had run out of the medication the previous day and submitted an order to the pharmacy for a refill; however, according to the findings, the facility “did not have an automatic system” to refill resident medications.
2. The nursing home did not employ adequate infection prevention and control protocols. Section 483.80 of the Federal Code requires nursing homes to “establish and maintain an infection prevention and control program” that establishes a “safe, sanitary and comfortable environment” for residents. A June 2019 citation found the facility did not maintain adequate infection control practices in an instance in which a resident with physician-ordered “contact precautions” lacked clear signage on their room. According to the citation, the room should have had signage “either identifying the category of transmission-based precautions, instructions for use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), and/or instructions to see the nurse before entering.” An inspector observed a visitor in the resident’s room, sitting near the resident and eating a sandwich, but without wearing a gown or gloves. The citation states that the signage that should have been on the resident’s door was in fact on a cart outside the room, partially obscured by a container.
3. The nursing home did not maintain a safe, clean, comfortable, and homelike environment for its residents. Under Section 483.10 of the Federal Code, nursing homes must ensure their residents’ right to a safe, clean, comfortable, and homelike environment, including adequate housekeeping and maintenance services. A June 2019 citation found that the nursing home did not ensure proper housekeeping and maintenance services. An inspector specifically observed “soiled, faded, tattered and torn” chairs in resident units and a dining room; a hole in a wall; peeled plaster; “soiled dusty curtains hanging off their hooks”; window blinds missing slats in a dining room; a nurse station countertop whose edges had “exposed inner wood material”; and a Hoyer lift that had dirt and dust accumulated on it. The citation states that these deficiencies had “potential to cause more than minimal harm.”
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.
