Area nursing homes cited for violations

On Sunday Whistleblower wrote about metro-area nursing homes that had the highest number of federal deficiencies in the past three years. Read the article below or click here to read the original posting.

Today ProPublica, a non-profit news organization, launched a new version of their portal to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Service's "nursing home compare" database. ProPublica calls its tool "Nursing Home Inspect." It has some features that make it a little more user friendly than the government's site.

National data on the Nursing Home Inspect home page shows that Minnesota is about in the middle of the pack in terms of nursing home statewide that have lost their medicare or medicaid funding. It shows that Minnesota nursing homes are cited for a relatively small number of deficiencies, and the state is just about rock bottom in the amount of fines it issues.

Click on Minnesota in any map to find out how each nursing home performs in the categories of fines, deficiencies and the denial of federal funding. Click on individual nursing home names to get more information about those homes and their survey results.

The article from Sunday:

One nursing home repeatedly allowed a resident to leave a facility to visit an abusive boyfriend. Another home failed to properly report and investigate many instances of residents' bruises, abrasions and allegations of abuse by staff. Other homes had trouble with cleanliness, odors and flies.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) inspects and rates nursing homes that receive federal funds. Of the 111 nursing homes in the seven-county metro area evaluated by CMS, I've listed the 10 cited for the most violations between June 1, 2009, and Aug. 31, 2012, the past three CMS reporting periods. CMS has used three years of inspection data to rate nursing homes.

1 Crystal Care Center, Crystal, 62 violations

Failed to ensure a grab-bar met requirements; develop care plans for all residents; take an incontinent resident to the toilet on schedule; provide proper bed-sore treatment; date-mark opened medication and food; clean ovens; keep emergency call lights in working order.

2 Southside Care Center, Minneapolis, 51 violations

Failed to notify a physician and pharmacist of a client's condition; investigate or report instances of resident abuse, neglect or mistreatment; provide sanitary bathrooms; monitor the diet of a diabetic resident; monitor a resident's pulse; adequately staff nurses; have an infection-control program.

3 Golden Livingcenter - Lynwood, Fridley, 48 violations

Substantiated complaints: The home failed to notice when a resident cut off his wander bracelet and left the facility. It sent a resident to a clinic with a fever and a coccyx ulcer covered with feces. The resident was diagnosed with sepsis.

4 Presbyterian Homes of Arden Hills, 44 violations

Failed to immediately report and investigate an abuse allegation; fully develop a care plan for a resident at risk of pressure ulcers; monitor the diet of a diabetic resident; supervise a resident with balance issues; make sure a resident was hydrated; minimize risk of infection in the facility.

5 Woodlyn Heights Healthcare Center, Inver Grove Heights, 43 violations

Failed to address resident's complaints quickly; treat all residents with respect and maintain their dignity; treat or prevent a resident's pressure ulcers; train staff in safe procedures for transferring residents between bed and wheelchair; establish some care plans and implement others; provide adequate nurse staffing; maintain a sanitary kitchen.

Failed to serve food consistent with dietary requirements or preferences; maintain a sanitary facility; monitor a resident's weight; keep emergency call lights in working order.

Substantiated complaints: Staff failed to administer an antibiotic as prescribed. A resident died after staff improperly reacted to his low oxygen-saturation rate.

7 Golden Livingcenter - Chateau, Minneapolis, 42 violations

Failed to notify all residents prior to Medicaid benefits ending; treat residents with respect and maintain their dignity; maintain a sanitary facility; help a resident with grooming; supervise a resident adequately when his beard lit on fire while he was smoking.

Substantiated complaints: Offensive odors and inadequate housekeeping.

Failed to develop policies to prevent abuse; neglect or mistreatment; neglected two residents who left the facility unsupervised and sustained injuries, and failed to immediately report the incidents; periodically assess a resident's functional capacity; develop a care plan for a resident with dentures or promptly deliver mended dentures; keep a refrigerator cold enough; maintain the facility in a safe, clean and comfortable condition; provide regular job reviews.

9 Robbinsdale Rehab & Care Center, Robbinsdale, 40 violations

Failed to provide accurate medical records upon discharge; assess and intervene in a resident's poor oral hygiene; reposition a resident every two hours; monitor the efficacy of all residents' medication; have a pharmacist review medications; date-mark medications; store and prepare food in a sanitary manner; keep emergency call lights in working order; train staff on how to move a resident safely.

Substantiated complaints: Facility let an unlicensed person dispose of medications.

10 Crest View Lutheran Home, Columbia Heights, 39 iolations

Substantiated complaints: Failed to transcribe a doctor's order that a resident wear an arm sling.