Ridgefield Nursing Home Fined For Resident's Injury: Report

RIDGEFIELD, CT — A senior living and rehabilitative care facility has been fined by the state for an injury one of its resident's sustained last year.

Laurel Ridge Health Care Center on 642 Danbury Road was fined $6,960 after a resident suffered a subdural hematoma in a fall, according to a report by the Connecticut Health I-Team. The resident fell out of the bed while being changed by a nurse aide on Oct. 8.

Orders for the patient specified that two staff members were required to move them, but only one nurse aide was providing care at the time of the fall, according to the report. The nurse aide caught half of the resident’s body from the other side of the bed but was unable to prevent the resident's head from hitting the floor. The patient was taken to hospital, and returned to Laurel Ridge the same day.

"Laurel Ridge Health Care Center takes the care of its patients and residents very seriously. We are confident that the issue raised in the report was isolated and not consistent with the care and customer service at our center," said Tim Brown, a spokesman for parent company Athena Health Care Systems. "All staff throughout our center were re-educated on our policies regarding two-person assist care and the importance of following policies. The center has further enhanced audits and rounds by our management team to ensure for compliance."