Nursing Home News — Page 432

The citation fell under a category that covers facilities failing to keep medication error rates below five percent.

The administrator told the inspector that the unheated hallways and common areas were "not affecting resident care," so heating them was not a priority.

Inspectors determined the facility had not met that standard for at least a few residents.

That was the situation federal inspectors found when they visited the facility on December 1, following a complaint.

The resident, identified in the inspection report only as Resident 1, had been admitted to Pacific Palms Healthcare with a diagnosis of paraplegia.

Residents in long-term care are among the most financially vulnerable people in the country.

The IV vancomycin belonged to Resident 1, who was receiving the drug every 12 hours as part of a 10-day course of treatment.

It is not a paperwork violation.

The deficiency was one of 18 cited during the inspection.

The violations affected a small number of residents, according to the inspection report, which rated the level of harm as minimal or potential for actual harm.

The deficiency was classified as a pattern, meaning inspectors found this wasn't an isolated slip with a single resident.

Just equipment that goes into a person's airway, sitting open in a nursing home room.