Two New Jersey nursing homes operated by the same company have been cited by federal regulators for violations related to a lack of personal protective equipment (primarily N95 respirator masks) for staff providing the care and treatment of residents infected or suspected of being infected with COVID-19. Fines of up to $28,000 have been proposed. The facilities are also alleged to not have provided training on how to properly wear some of the N95 masks manufactured by different companies.
The Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) issued a letter considering many of the violations “serious” in response to complaints filed by a healthcare employee union on behalf of nursing home workers in the two facilities.
Two members of the healthcare employee union contracted COVID-19 and subsequently died.
The chief physician executive for the managing company indicated that the company was “challenging several of the OSHA findings.” He issued this statement: “We vehemently oppose the union’s characterization of our approach to team member safety as ‘abhorrent’ or ‘callous.’ We believe that the safety standards that we had to adopt in this unprecedented global pandemic absolutely protected our team members.”
The managing company has 15 days to respond to the OSHA letter.
Compliance Perspective
Failure to provide adequate PPE and to train employees on how to wear N95 masks and use other equipment according to the guidelines from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) may be deemed a violation of federal regulations, and could place staff caring for infected or possibly infected residents at risk for contracting COVID-19. It could also result in the spread of infection to non-infected residents, placing them in jeopardy for the virus. Additionally, violations may result in the assessment of fines and other sanctions.
Discussion Points:
- Review policies and procedures to ensure that the guidelines for nursing homes from CMS and the CDC have been implemented and are being followed.
- Train staff regarding procedures for wearing and disposing of PPE, with specific focus on how to fit and wear N95 respirator masks along with careful hand hygiene.
- Periodically audit to determine if staff are following procedures for the proper wearing and disposal of PPE.
