The Villages of Orleans Health and Rehabilitation Center has received received 68 citations for violations of public health code between 2017 and 2021, according to health records accessed on March 12, 2021, as well as two fines totaling $30,000 between 2018 and 2020. The Albion nursing home’s citations resulted from a total of 17 surveys by state inspectors. The violations they describe include the following:
1. The nursing home did not adequately protect residents from abuse. Under Section 483.12 of the Federal Code, nursing home residents have the right “to be free from abuse.” An August 2020 citation found that The Villages of Orleans Health and Rehabilitation Center failed to uphold this right for two residents. The citation states specifically that two residents “were observed engaged in sexual activity and per the physician lacked the cognitive ability to consent.” The citation goes on to state that the facility did not evaluate the residents in question after the incident in question to determine their capacity to consent to sexual activity. The facility’s Director of Nursing stated in an interview that the facility had no specific policy or procedure to determine such. A plan of correction undertaken by the facility included the transfer of one resident to a different unit and the discharge of the other resident.
2. The nursing home did not adequately prevent infectious disease. Section 483.80 of the Federal Code requires nursing homes to residents “a safe, sanitary and comfortable environment and to help prevent the development and transmission of communicable diseases and infections.” A September 2020 citation found that The Villages of Orleans Health and Rehabilitation Center failed to ensure such. The citation states specifically that the nursing home failed to ensure the proper care of a peripherally inserted central catheter for one resident. It goes on to describe an incidence in which a staffer “did not perform proper hand hygiene during routine care of a PICC and did not replace the primary IV (intravenous) tubing after the tubing fell on the floor.” The citation states additionally that the facility did not “conduct or complete a Legionella risk assessment of the facility to identify where Legionella and other opportunistic pathogens could grow and spread in the facility’s water system.” The citation describes these deficiencies as having the “potential to cause more than minimal harm.”
3. A May 2020 citation also found that The Villages of Orleans Health and Rehabilitation Center failed to ensure with infection prevent and control requirements. The citation states specifically that facility staff entered and exited the room of a resident diagnosed with Covid-19, then entered the rooms of non-Covid-positive residents “without wearing PPE and completing proper hand hygiene.” When they were in the rooms of the residents without Covid-19, the staffers in question “passed breakfast trays, assisted with the residents’ meal and provided hands on care.” The citation goes on to say that staff in the facility’s Covid-19 units “were not wearing proper PPE” and that “PPE was not readily accessible to staff.” The citation states that these deficiencies posed “immediate jeopardy to resident health or safety.”
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.
