2 Rochester-area nursing homes fined for COVID-19 infection control
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ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WHEC) — Two area nursing homes are facing thousands of dollars in fines for how they handled the COVID-19 pandemic. Inspectors from the New York State Department of Health cited both Creekview Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Gates and The Villages of Orleans in Albion for failing to provide proper infection prevention and control measures.
In early May, News10NBC Investigative Reporter Jennifer Lewke exposed issues within The Villages of Orleans when distraught family members who knew their loved ones had COVID-19 couldn’t get information about their care or condition. At the time, the administrator at the Villages of Orleans asked Lewke to leave the property but four days later inspectors from the state found infection protocols at the facility were not being followed.
Inspectors found in part, “the facility did not establish and maintain an Infection Control Program to ensure the health and safety of residents to help prevent the transmission of COVID-19. Specifically, facility staff (Certified Nurse Aides (CNA) and Licensed Practical Nurses (LPN) entered and exited the room of a resident diagnosed with [REDACTED]. The same staff then entered the rooms of residents without COVID-19, passed breakfast trays, assisted with the residents’ meal and provided hands on care without wearing PPE and completing proper hand hygiene. Staff on COVID-19 Units, COVID-19 rooms, and COVID-19 presumed rooms were not wearing proper PPE. PPE was not readily accessible to staff. Additionally, resident’s under investigation for COVID-19 were not placed on droplet precautions per the facility process.”
The facility has been fined $20,000 for the violations.
At Creekview Nursing and Rehab Center in Gates, inspectors found similar violations writing in reports, “the facility failed to establish and maintain an infection prevention and control program designed to help prevent the development and transmission of COVID-19. The facility staff failed to consistently follow infection control precautions for residents on standard and droplet precautions potentially resulting in cross-contamination for 89 residents not identified as having COVID-19…Additionally, the facility did not protect three residents that were asymptomatic and did not have COVID-19. All three residents were residing in rooms with residents that had COVID-19.”
[News10NBC]
The facility has been fined $16,000 for the violations.
In a statement to News10NBC, A spokesman for Creekview Nursing and Rehab Center says, “Creekview Nursing & Rehabilitation Center has been in compliance since the Department of Health issued deficiencies against the facility at the end of April. Immediacy was removed by the Department of Health after just two days. It involved rewriting and implementing policies surrounding cohorting, educating and having staff demonstrate competency in donning and doffing. No residents were found to be harmed from the alleged deficient practice and what’s more is that after two days being issued an IJ (Immediate Jeopardy), the facility was determined to be in compliance. All clinical staff, from the CNA level to upper clinical management, were given a re-education about the best ways to stop the spread of the virus within the facility.”
In a statement, a spokeswoman from the New York State Department of Health says, “since March 1, 2020, the Department of Health has conducted 1,867 onsite Focus Infection Control Surveys (1,134 at nursing homes and 733 at adult care facilities), with at least one visit to every nursing home and adult care facility in New York State. We have issued 95 citations to 77 nursing homes. To date, we have levied a total of $328,000 in fines to 23 facilities. This only represents a portion of the total number of cases for which we are actively pursuing fines. The Department will continue to hold providers who violate regulations accountable for their actions.”
To read the full inspection report on The Villages of Orleans, click here.
To read the full inspection report on Creekview Nursing and Rehab Center, click here.
To search inspection records for any and all nursing homes in New York State, click here.
Here’s the full list of facilities facing COVID-19 fines:
| The Villages at Orleans Health and Rehab Center | $20,000 |
| Harlem Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation | $24,000 |
| Creekview Nursing and Rehabilitation Center | $16,000 |
| Humboldt House Rehab and Nursing Center | $50,000 |
| The Grand Rehabilitation and Nursing at Barnwell | $22,000 |
| Buffalo Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation | $22,000 |
| Northern Manhattan Rehabilitation and Nursing | $4,000 |
| Garden Care Center | $14,000 |
| Glens Falls Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing | $6,000 |
| Cliffside Rehabilitation and Residential Health Care Center | $12,000 |
| Eddy Memorial Geriatric Center | $4,000 |
| Queens-Nassau Nursing Home | $14,000 |
| Fulton Commons Care Center | $6,000 |
| Coler Rehabilitation and Nursing Care Center | $30,000 |
| Morningside Nursing and Rehabilitation Center | $6,000 |
| Rutland Nursing Home | $8,000 |
| New Gouverneur Hospital, SNF | $28,000 |
| Cuba Memorial Hospital, SNF | $2,000 |
| Island Nursing and Rehabilitation Center | $6,000 |
| Comprehensive Nursing and Rehab Center at Williamsville | $14,000 |
| Golden Hill Nursing and Rehabilitation Center | $8,000 |
| Massapequa Center Rehabilitation and Nursing | $2,000 |