A class-action lawsuit was filed against a New York nursing home in 2019 for being unsafe, understaffed, and negligent in its care of residents. In April 2021, a judge approved a $5.5 million settlement for the class-action lawsuit against the facility’s owners.
The New York nursing home, which was sold in 2017, had a history of poor inspection reports. One of the violations in their inspections involved a resident that was in severe pain and cried for nearly two days before she was sent to a hospital for treatment of a fractured leg. The nursing home staff also failed to give the resident adequate pain relief after the fracture was confirmed by an X-Ray.
Another violation cited involved a resident who was accidently locked out of the facility by staff. He then crossed a busy street at night using a walker. He fell and hit his head on a sidewalk. A passerby called an ambulance, and he was taken to a hospital and received six stiches to his head. The nursing home staff were unaware of where the resident was for the entire shift. It was not until the next shift that staff realized the resident was missing and called the police.
Other violations included a registered nurse who used a cotton swab to attempt to unclog a feeding tube. The swab accidently broke off into the tube, and the RN tried unsuccessfully to remove it with a paper clip. The report stated that many of the nurses who cared for the resident were not adequately trained in how to manage a resident with a feeding tube. Also, an intruder under the influence of drugs came into a resident’s room in the middle of the night, and the incident was never reported to authorities.
In 2017 the New York Attorney General’s Office raided the nursing home, and, according to staff, between 30 and 40 investigators seized records as part of an investigation of resident care problems at the 440-bed facility. Two representatives of the AG’s Office were at the door with badges and handguns visible, signing employees and others in and out. The facility was sold after that event.
More than 2,000 former residents and their families are members of the class-action lawsuit and are entitled to payments from the settlement, which is intended for individuals with catastrophic claims. A claims administrator and medical experts will determine how much money the various individuals will receive. Payments will be determined based upon how many days the residents lived in the facility between August 15, 2014 through December 14, 2017.
Issue:
Adequate, competent nursing staff are vital to delivery of high quality care that all residents should receive. A facility assessment can assist leadership in determining what trainings are priorities for nursing staff to receive. It is essential that the trainings occur, and also that the staff members demonstrate competency in delivering the care. It is challenging during the pandemic to recruit and retain nursing staff; therefore, leadership should discuss innovative ways to recruit and retain staff. The facility’s emergency preparedness plan should also be reviewed to determine what steps may need to be taken if staffing levels become critically low. Detailed information is available in the Med-Net Corporate Compliance and Ethics Manual, Chapter 1, Compliance and Ethics Program.
Discussion Points:
- Review your new employee orientation process and determine if changes should be made to help retain employees. Discuss with human resources the current tactics that are being used to recruit new employees. In addition, review nursing policies and procedures to ensure that the procedures are comprehensive and competency-based. Update as needed.
- Train the appropriate staff on the importance of new employee orientation. Also train all nursing staff on your policies and procedures for nursing skills, and ensure that each nurse demonstrates competency in providing care. Ensure that nurses have access to the nursing policies and procedures for easy reference. Ask staff if there are areas within their responsibilities where they would like to receive additional training, and provide the requested instruction. Document that these trainings occurred and file in each employee’s education file.
- Periodically audit to ensure that new staff orientation is complete to ensure competency of the employees filling each role. In addition, periodically conduct audits to ensure that each nurse’s competency is evaluated upon hire and at least annually thereafter per your facility’s policy.
