Nursing home state inspection results vary
While most nursing homes in the county had no violations and were in compliance with all state requirements during a recent state inspection, others had deficiencies, such as not checking the blood of diabetic patients, storing employee food and patients' medicines in the same refrigerator and using equipment on patients that was not ordered by a doctor.
The state Department of Health released the results of its most recent inspections of 456 nursing homes across the state that receive Medicare and/or Medicaid payments, and 12 operating facilities are listed in the database under Butler County.
Among those in the county showing no deficiencies were the 142-bed Concordia Lutheran Health and Human Care on Marwood Road in Winfield Township.
Others with no deficiencies, or in compliance, were the 220-bed Sunnyview Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Butler Township, 150-bed Cranberry Place at the intersection of routes 228 and 19 in Cranberry Township, the 115-bed Quality Life Services in Chicora, 103-bed Transitions Healthcare Autumn Grove Care Center in Harrisville, 68-bed Orchards of Saxonburg in Saxonburg, 66-bed Quality Life Services of Sarver in Winfield Township, 43-bed Sherwood Oaks in Cranberry Township and 29-bed Advanced Care Center of Butler on Technology Drive in Butler Township.
At Passavant Retirement and Health Center in Zelienople, an inspection on Dec. 8 revealed that the 102-bed facility “corrected all the federal deficiencies cited during the survey of Sept. 14, 2020.”
But inspectors recorded several deficiencies and violations at two care homes in the county.
St. John Specialty Care Center on Wittenburg Way in Mars and The Grove at Harmony on Evergreen Mill Road in Jackson Township had a litany of situations and issues found by inspectors.Both of the facilities provided plans of correction for the deficiencies or violations, which is required, regardless of whether facility leaders agree with the inspectors' findings.One cancer patient at The Grove at Harmony had tubes inserted into her kidneys to drain urine without a doctor's order; a doctor was not alerted when two residents' blood sugar tested very high and very low, respectively; a container of pickled green peppers, frozen pizza rolls and a jar of pickled vegetables were found in the director of nursing's office refrigerator along with vials of pneumonia, flu and shingles vaccines, tuberculosis testing solution, insulin pens and an injectable medication to treat a low red blood cell count.Also, the administrator admitted fire drills were not held as often as required, the facility failed to meet the state minimum requirement of 2.7 hours of direct nursing care for two of 21 days in November, several deficiencies were found in the care center's facility assessment document, eight patients were found to be outfitted with adaptive equipment that had not been ordered by a physician, refuse was found around open Dumpsters and a handful of kitchen violations were noted, including staff not wearing hair nets.
The Grove at Harmony personnel provided the required plans of correction for each deficiency as required.At St. John Specialty Care, a man with multiple illnesses and disabilities fell out of bed and broke his elbow when a nursing assistant who was caring for him turned to answer a question from another nursing assistant.Other deficiencies include food storage violations in two of eight storage facilities, undignified feeding of 15 patients during mealtime, failure to cover one patient's urine-collection bag with a “dignity cover,” and a handful of other, more minor deficiencies.St. John Specialty Care leaders also provided plans of correction for each violation or deficiency.According to the state Department of Health website, providing a plan of correction does not equal an admission of guilt by facility administrators, but allows the facility to continue operating and receiving Medicare and Medicaid payments.Dave Fenoglietto, president and CEO of Lutheran SeniorLife, which owns St. John Specialty Care, said the Department of Health findings are unusual for the facility.“They generally have been really good over the course of many years,” he said. “This year, there were some minor items.”
Fenoglietto said St. John Specialty Care has been successfully tending to the needs of the area's older adults for more than 100 years.“We have a long-standing history and we hope to rebound,” he said.He said corrective action plans were created and implemented for all deficiencies named in the department's report, which is the only requirement by the department.Fenoglietto is confident that the deficiencies will not be repeated at St. John Specialty Care.“We hope to be around for the next 100 years,” Fenoglietto said.Mark Nord, administrator at The Grove at Harmony, was not available for comment on Thursday.
