Yonkers Gardens Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation received 38 citations for violations of public health code between 2018 and 2022, according to New York State Department of Health records accessed on May 13, 2022. The Yonkers nursing home’s citations resulted from a total of 15 inspections by state surveyors. The deficiencies they describe include the following:
1. The nursing home did not implement adequate accident prevention measures. Section 483.25 of the Federal Code maintains that nursing homes must ensure resident environments remain as free as possible of accident hazards, while providing residents with “adequate supervision and assistance devices to prevent accidents.” A December 2021 citation found that Yonkers Gardens Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation failed to ensure such. The citation specifically describes an instance in which a resident at high risk for elopement “exited the facility through the main lobby, undetected by staff,” who did not discover them until the following day. The citation goes on to describe a separate instance in which a second resident at high risk for elopement “exited the facility twice unnoticed by the staff.” In a third instance described by the citation, a third resident at high risk from elopement exited the facility “through a tunnel that led to the hospital grounds” and was found in a park one block away from the nursing home. A plan of correction undertaken by the facility included the education and counseling of relevant staff, as well as the termination of a security guard assigned to monitor the facility’s main lobby.
2. Yonkers Gardens Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation was also cited for accident-prevention failures in a July 2020 citation. In one instance described by this citation, a resident “removed her Wanderguard and was able to exit the facility undetected by staff,” who neither noticed her getting on the elevator to the lobby, nor leaving the lobby through the front doors. In a separate instance described by this citation, another resident exited the unit through a door that trigger the alarm, only for unit staff to shut off the alarm without checking the staircase through which the resident exited or to alert the facility’s security. A plan of correction undertaken by the facility included the education of relevant staff and the termination of a security guard who failed to monitor the first resident.
3. Yonkers Gardens Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation was cited for accident-prevention failures in another citation, issued in May 2019. This citation describes the a resident with cognitive impairment and dependent on staff for toileting who “fell in the bathroom and was found between the toilet and his wheelchair.” According to the citation, the resident “fell as he transferred himself from his wheelchair striking his head on the floor.” In an interview, the facility’s Rehabilitation Director said she was not aware that the bathroom used by the resident was missing a commode frame, adding that “a grab bar is not acceptable for this resident with an above the knee amputation.” A plan of correction undertaken by the facility included the placement of a commode frame in the resident’s bathroom.
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.
