JOSIE HUANG Staff Writer
Portland Press Herald (Maine)
06-04-2005
Nursing home under fire over patient's treatment ; Haven Health Center of Cape Elizabeth risks federal penalties if it doesn't make changes.
Byline: JOSIE HUANG Staff Writer
Edition: Final
Section: Local & State
State and federal regulators want immediate changes at a nursing home in Cape Elizabeth, since the staff failed last month to report a patient's fall that later required hospitalization.
Two days passed before a doctor at Haven Health Center learned of the fall and admitted the patient to a hospital with a fractured pelvis, according to state inspectors. The hospital stay lasted at least 20 days.
'A person was in pain, and the information to assess the seriousness of that was not in the place it should have been,' said Michael Norton, spokesman for the state Department of Health and Human Services.
The nursing home, which has a history of improper-care complaints, must prove that it has corrected the problem by June 18. Otherwise, the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will halt payments, which could cripple the 60-bed facility.
The nursing home's parent company, however, is optimistic that state inspectors will be satisfied with the changes it has made.
'We feel that we have our arms around the issue and made the corrections already to resolve the issue,' said Anthony Scierka, executive vice president of Haven Healthcare in Middletown, Conn.
It is up to the nursing home to come up with the correction plan, said Roseanne Pawelec, spokeswoman for the Boston office of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Scierka would not give specifics on the plan.
Until the nursing home returns to good standing, the federal government is leveling a $3,050-a-day fine and denying payments for new admissions.
This is not the first time the nursing home has been criticized for putting patients in 'imminent jeopardy.' In September 2003, inspectors reported that the facility, then called Viking Nursing Home, was not treating or reporting patients' bedsores. The federal government cut off payments for a month.
Scierka said the nursing home has made a turnaround since Haven Healthcare took over management in April 2003 and then ownership in September 2003.
The company has installed new management and promotes continuing education for the frontline staff, Scierka said. It has also bought mattresses that prevent pressure ulcers.
Scierka said the incident in May was an 'isolated' one and a 'setback in that progress.' He refrained from discussing the case further, citing patient confidentiality.
According to inspectors, the patient fell on May 4, and the family and physicians were not notified until May 6.
The state received a complaint on May 18, and made its findings on May 27.
Of the hundreds of nursing and residential facilities in Maine, only a handful of homes are found each year to have such serious deficiencies that they risk losing federal funds.
Federal statistics show, though, that 95 percent of those cited are able to correct problems.
'We expect (Haven Health Center) will be brought back into compliance before June 18 if they follow the practices of most nursing homes cited for jeopardy,' Pawelec said.
Staff Writer Josie Huang can be contacted at 791-6364 or at:
jhuang@pressherald.com
Copyright 2005 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.
Portland Press Herald (Maine)
06-04-2005
Nursing home under fire over patient's treatment ; Haven Health Center of Cape Elizabeth risks federal penalties if it doesn't make changes.
Byline: JOSIE HUANG Staff Writer
Edition: Final
Section: Local & State
State and federal regulators want immediate changes at a nursing home in Cape Elizabeth, since the staff failed last month to report a patient's fall that later required hospitalization.
Two days passed before a doctor at Haven Health Center learned of the fall and admitted the patient to a hospital with a fractured pelvis, according to state inspectors. The hospital stay lasted at least 20 days.
'A person was in pain, and the information to assess the seriousness of that was not in the place it should have been,' said Michael Norton, spokesman for the state Department of Health and Human Services.
The nursing home, which has a history of improper-care complaints, must prove that it has corrected the problem by June 18. Otherwise, the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will halt payments, which could cripple the 60-bed facility.
The nursing home's parent company, however, is optimistic that state inspectors will be satisfied with the changes it has made.
'We feel that we have our arms around the issue and made the corrections already to resolve the issue,' said Anthony Scierka, executive vice president of Haven Healthcare in Middletown, Conn.
It is up to the nursing home to come up with the correction plan, said Roseanne Pawelec, spokeswoman for the Boston office of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Scierka would not give specifics on the plan.
Until the nursing home returns to good standing, the federal government is leveling a $3,050-a-day fine and denying payments for new admissions.
This is not the first time the nursing home has been criticized for putting patients in 'imminent jeopardy.' In September 2003, inspectors reported that the facility, then called Viking Nursing Home, was not treating or reporting patients' bedsores. The federal government cut off payments for a month.
Scierka said the nursing home has made a turnaround since Haven Healthcare took over management in April 2003 and then ownership in September 2003.
The company has installed new management and promotes continuing education for the frontline staff, Scierka said. It has also bought mattresses that prevent pressure ulcers.
Scierka said the incident in May was an 'isolated' one and a 'setback in that progress.' He refrained from discussing the case further, citing patient confidentiality.
According to inspectors, the patient fell on May 4, and the family and physicians were not notified until May 6.
The state received a complaint on May 18, and made its findings on May 27.
Of the hundreds of nursing and residential facilities in Maine, only a handful of homes are found each year to have such serious deficiencies that they risk losing federal funds.
Federal statistics show, though, that 95 percent of those cited are able to correct problems.
'We expect (Haven Health Center) will be brought back into compliance before June 18 if they follow the practices of most nursing homes cited for jeopardy,' Pawelec said.
Staff Writer Josie Huang can be contacted at 791-6364 or at:
jhuang@pressherald.com
Copyright 2005 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.
