New York Nursing Home Cited for Providing Poor Care

Residents of the Rosewood Heights nursing home were in danger of death or serious injury by choking on their food because workers did not properly supervise them, according to a December state Health Department inspection of the New York facility. The facility has been on the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) list of the nation’s worst nursing homes for a year, and the latest inspection shows they’re not getting better.

Three of the home’s 26 violations were classified as “immediate jeopardy” – the most serious type of infraction – and 12 citations were repeat problems. CMS has fined the home $10,000. The facility must improve within 18 to 24 months or face the possibility of losing Medicare and Medicaid funding.

Some of the inspection’s findings include:

• A wall oxygen unit in a resident’s room was constantly running continuously with no tubing attached to it.
• Some employees did not wash their hands properly.
• A nurse aid fed a resident with her bare hands.
• Food served to residents was not hot enough.
• Floors were dirty in some resident rooms.

The home was criticized for putting residents in jeopardy during feeding. One woman with difficulty swallowing was on a diet of thick liquids and no bread, but unsupervised friends were regularly feeding her bread and solid foods not on her diet. Another man at high risk for choking was being fed while lying on his back. The report also cited workers for not treating residents with dignity. A wheelchair-bound resident was wearing a hospital gown open in the back, and a nearby nurse made no effort to cover him.

While less than one percent of facilities are on CMS’s list of the nation’s worst-performing nursing homes, Rosewood Heights was added for serious violations and persistent poor quality for more than three years.

Nursing home abuse is a serious problem that can be happening quietly for years without loved ones knowing about it. Those who witness any signs of abuse are urged to report the actions immediately and possibly seek legal counsel. Speaking up will help keep others from suffering in the future.