New Database Examines Lakewood's Nursing Homes

Three nursing homes in Lakewood have fixed the issues they were cited for during the last round of inspections by the Ohio Department of Health. 

A new database ranking nursing homes, with scores ranging from “A” (the best) to “L” (the worst), was recently made available online by ProPublica.

The marks are based on the number — and seriousness — of infractions.

The inspections at three of the city’s four nursing homes took place from July 2011 to February 2012.

No information was reported for . 

Nursing home officials who responded to calls for this story say the issues were all fixed within 10 days of the infractions, per Ohio law.

Patrice Campbell, the president of Ennis Court Nursing Home, said that inspectors from the Ohio Department of Health make unannounced stops at facilities once every 15 months.

“Nursing homes are kind of like schools,” she said. “You can get a vibe within the first 30 to 60 seconds what kind of care is provided at that facility.”

The inspections, which usually take about five days, include medical-record reviews, observations and interviews with patients and staff.

Ennis Court Nursing Care

Ennis Court, which was cited in February for “lacking an infection control program,” had its issue resolved before the inspectors left, said Campbell.

The facility received an “F” score — about middle of the pack — with the summary statement noting that the facility required a program that “investigates, controls and keeps infection from spreading.” 

Campbell said the “plan of correction” was sent to the state office in Akron, where it was approved days later in what’s known as a “desk review.”

The facility received its last inspection in July 2011, when a few infractions were noted by the Ohio Department of Health.

Lakewood Senior Health Campus, at 13900 Detroit Avenue, received a mark of “D to E.”

According to the summary statement, the facility needed to do a better job of “immediately telling the resident, the resident's doctor and a family member of the resident of situations that affect the resident.” 

In addition, the facility needed to:

• Develop policies that prevent mistreatment, neglect, or abuse of residents or theft of resident property.
• Store, cook, and serve food in a safe and clean way.
• Make sure that each resident who enters the nursing home without a catheter is not given a catheter, and receive proper services to prevent urinary tract infections and restore normal bladder function.

David O’Neill, the executive director of the , said that the issues were resolved within 10 days, and the corrections were posted on the wall.

“We’re waiting for the next (inspection),” he said. “It’s been 13 months.”

The facility, at 14519 Detroit Avenue, received a “D” rating in September 2011, according to the report.

The summary statement noted that the facility needed to “make sure that each resident gets a nutritional and well balanced diet, unless it is not possible to do so.”

The facility failed to maintain and accurately monitor acceptable parameters of nutrition including weight and supplement intake for two residents out of three residents identified with weight loss concerns.

Calls seeking comment were not immediately returned. 

The facility was not listed in the report, however is due for another inspection. The last one came in March 2011, when there were zero infractions noted.