State fines borough nursing home

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NAUGATUCK — The state Department of Public Health has fined a local nursing home for two separate violations of the state Public Health Code.

The department fined Beacon Brook Health Center on New Haven Road $2,180.

The first violation occurred after a resident died May 23 of a bowel obstruction and cardiopulmonary arrest. Although the resident complained of nausea and a stomach ache, nurses did not perform an abdominal assessment, according to medical records obtained by DPH.

A DPH report states the nursing home’s records from May 21 to May 23 did not indicate that the resident had complained of nausea, vomiting and/or pain, even though a DPH investigation found that he had. And, the report states, the facility did not have a specific policy on abdominal assessments.

The second case involved a Beacon Brook resident who was accidentally not given medication to help him retain fluids, even though a resident care plan identified a risk for fluid imbalance related to diuretic use, according to the report.

The drug the patient was supposed to take was noted in the physician’s order, but was not placed in the patient’s medication record, according to the report. Therefore, nursing home staff stopped giving the patient the medication on July 9, the report states. Between July 10 and July 21, the patient gained nine pounds, according to the report.

The report also states that the resident’s weight gains had not been noted in the resident’s records. Those weight gain notes could have triggered a problem for a physician, the report states. The resident ended up spending five days in a hospital for shortness of breath and fluid overload, according to the report.

Administrators at Beacon Brook had no comment.