Shelton Nursing Home Fined by DPH

A Shelton nursing home owned by Brian Foley has been fined for lapses in care.

According to an order posted on the State Department of Public Health website this week, Apple Rehab Shelton Lakes has been fined $5,000 and ordered to hire a nursing consultant.

Foley signed the consent order with the DPH on Feb. 5 agreeing to the fine and also requiring the nursing home to hire an independent nursing consultant to “serve the interest of the department in ensuring the safety, welfare and well-being of the patients and to secure compliance with applicable state and federal law.”

The order states that the department conducted unannounced inspections on various dates between June 4, 2014 and June 11, 2014.

The incidents recorded by DPH included one resident whose diagnoses included dehydration and had not met their fluid goals for 9 days, according to a nurse’s note dated May 1, 2014. However no evidence was found that a physician had been informed the resident was not meeting fluid goals prior to May 1, 2014. The records also failed to document the resident’s intake and output between April 24, 2014 and May, 2 2014.

Another resident, whose diagnoses included anemia, dementia with behavioral disturbances and agitation lost 25 pounds between April 4, 2014 and May 12, 2014 and records failed to identify whether a physician or family members were informed of the weight loss in a timely manner, the investigation found.

According to the findings, one incident of neglect included a resident who had not been changed all day on Aug. 25, 2013. The incontinent resident’s bed linens “were observed to be soiled with dry feces and urine stains.” Another resident interviewed on June 6, 2014 reported that within the last 6 months, they had been left in a wet diaper for several hours and the facility failed to provide care in a dignified manner.

A resident who fell in May 2014 and was referred to a physical therapist however no record could be found that indicated a physical therapist evaluated the resident. One resident’s care plan did not reflect whether interventions had been in place to minimize the resident’s risk of falls. The resident fell and hit their head in February 2014.

Another finding included residents or their legal representatives not being informed of roommate changes and a failure to exercise proper infection control while transferring residents via Hoyer Lift.

Failure to maintain an updated grievance log as per facility policy and the facility’s failure to complete screening of new hires were among other violations found by the DPH.

Foley was sentenced in January to spend three months in a halfway house for violating federal campaign finance laws. He was also ordered to pay a $30,000 fine.

Image via Shutterstock

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