SOMERSET, PA - A nursing facility in Somerset County has been cited for repeated infection control failures across three consecutive federal surveys, raising concerns about the effectiveness of the facility's quality assurance processes.
Facility's Correction Plans Prove Ineffective
Federal inspectors documented that Siemons' Lakeview Manor Nursing and Rehab Ctr has been cited for infection control and prevention failures during surveys ending April 25, 2024, December 13, 2024, and March 13, 2025. Despite submitting plans of correction after each citation, the facility has been unable to maintain compliance with federal infection control regulations.
The inspection report indicates that while the facility developed correction plans that included conducting audits and reporting results to the Quality Assurance and Performance Improvement (QAPI) committee, these measures have not successfully resolved the underlying issues.
Infection control in nursing homes is critical because elderly residents often have compromised immune systems, making them particularly vulnerable to infectious diseases. When facilities fail to implement proper infection prevention practices, residents face increased risk of acquiring healthcare-associated infections, which can lead to serious complications including pneumonia, urinary tract infections, and skin infections. For frail elderly individuals, such infections can result in hospitalizations, prolonged illness, and in severe cases, death.
Food Service Quality Concerns
Inspectors also cited the facility under F804 for the QAPI committee's failure to successfully implement plans ensuring compliance with food service regulations. Specifically, the facility did not maintain ongoing compliance with requirements regarding the nutritive value, appearance, preferred temperature, and palatability of foods served to residents.
Proper nutrition is fundamental to resident health and recovery in long-term care settings. When food is served at improper temperatures, it can pose food safety risks and reduce appetite among residents who may already have diminished interest in eating. Poor palatability and appearance of meals can lead to decreased food intake, which in turn can result in unintended weight loss, malnutrition, and weakened immune function.
Federal regulations require nursing facilities to provide food that is palatable, attractive, and served at proper temperatures because adequate nutrition directly impacts residents' ability to heal from illness, maintain strength, and resist infection.
Pattern of QAPI Committee Failures
The citations reveal a troubling pattern: the facility's Quality Assurance and Performance Improvement committee has been unable to effectively address identified deficiencies. QAPI committees are required by federal regulations to develop and implement approaches to improve quality of care and monitor their effectiveness.
The committee's role includes identifying problems, implementing corrective actions, and conducting ongoing monitoring to ensure sustained compliance. When a QAPI program functions properly, facilities should be able to identify issues before they result in regulatory citations and make lasting improvements when problems are identified.
In this case, the repeated citations for infection control—spanning nearly a year across three separate surveys—suggest that the facility's internal quality monitoring processes have not been effective at creating sustainable solutions.
What Should Have Occurred
According to federal nursing home regulations, facilities must maintain an infection prevention and control program designed to help prevent the development and transmission of communicable diseases. This includes having written policies, conducting surveillance of infections, and implementing preventive measures.
When a facility is cited for a deficiency and submits a plan of correction, that plan should include specific actions to address the immediate problem, root cause analysis to identify why the problem occurred, and ongoing monitoring to prevent recurrence. Successful correction plans typically include staff education, policy revisions, regular audits with documented results, and accountability measures.
The fact that this facility has been cited for infection control failures across three consecutive surveys indicates that its correction plans have not adequately addressed the root causes of the deficiencies.
Additional Issues Identified
Beyond the infection control and food service citations, the survey results point to broader concerns about the facility's quality assurance infrastructure. The QAPI committee's documented struggles to implement effective corrections across multiple areas suggest systemic challenges in the facility's approach to quality improvement and regulatory compliance.
Industry best practices call for QAPI committees to meet regularly, analyze data trends, assign clear responsibility for corrective actions, and follow up systematically to verify that improvements have been sustained.
Nursing home residents and their families rely on these internal quality processes to ensure that care deficiencies are identified and corrected promptly. When these processes fail repeatedly, as documented in this inspection, it raises questions about the overall effectiveness of the facility's quality oversight.
Full Inspection Report
The details above represent a summary of key findings. View the complete inspection report for Siemons' Lakeview Manor Nursing and Rehab Ctr from 2025-03-13 including all violations, facility responses, and corrective action plans.
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