Kentucky Nursing Home Inspection Ratings & Violations

According to Medicare.gov, Kentucky has 284 nursing facilities. While 161 (58%) of these nursing homes rank average or above on the level of care they provide, the remaining 118 (42%) have below average and much below average ratings. This substandard level of care falls below the acceptable rating allowed by Medicaid and Medicare.

The investigators for state and federal agencies specifically address issues that lead to injury, harm or death of residents in long-term care facilities throughout Kentucky. These inspectors identify minor in major violations including an injury that results from in action for negligence, unreasonably confining or restraining a vulnerable resident, mental distress, or any assault involving physical or sexual assault. The surveyors will tour the facility, conduct interviews, and review records to identify facility-acquired bedsores, infectious residents, and suspicious activity that could identify neglect and mistreatment.

While there are situations where the injury that occurred to the resident was the result of an innocent accident, others are more evident signs of neglect, abuse, and mistreatment. The nursing home inspectors and surveyors will conduct a thorough investigation of every opened complaint or identify problems during an annual licensure and certification survey. When the violation is detected, the nursing facility typically receives a monetary penalty, denial of Medicaid payments or at minimum develops a compliance plan to correct the violation.

Below is a small sampling of the many hundreds of violations and hazards found by investigative teams that issued citations, monetary penalties and denied payment for Medicare services.

If the employees at the nursing facility failed to take appropriate measures, the residents can be exposed to hazards and dangerous situations that could cause accidents, injuries, or death. Serious concerns at Kentucky nursing homes involving accident hazards include:

• The nursing home failed to ensure a resident received supervision to make sure accidents were prevented (Bradford Heights and Rehab Center, Bridge Point Center, Diversicare of Nicholasville, Hardinsburg Nursing and Rehab Center, Kensington Center)
• The facility failed to ensure the environment was free from potentially hazardous substances to prevent accidents (Clifton Oaks Care Center, Klondike Center)
• Failure to provide adequate supervision to avoid an accident that involved one or more falls (Clifton Place, Danville Centre for Health and Rehab, Dover Manor, Madison Health and Rehab Center)

If any resident, visitor, family member or employee witnesses or reports an allegation of neglect or abuse occurring at the facility, the nursing home is required to conduct a comprehensive investigation and report the findings to the Administrator and State Agency. Any failure to do so violates rules and regulations. Serious concerns involving a failure to investigate mistreatment include:

• The facility did not immediately report potential abuse when a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) verbally assaulted a resident (Beaver Dam Nursing and Rehab Center)
• The nursing home failed to ensure an injury of an unknown source was immediately reported and investigated (Campbellsville Nursing and Rehab Center)
• Failure to ensure an incident of alleged abuse was immediately reported to the Administrator (Danville Centre for Health and Rehabilitation)

The spread of infection throughout the nursing home is a serious concern that can be prevented if the nursing staff and employees follow established protocols. Any failure to sanitize hands, properly handle dirty linens, or use personal protective equipment (PPE) correctly around infectious residents could raise serious concerns at the facility including:

• The facility failed to ensure dirty linen was stored appropriately to prevent the spread of infection (Bradford Heights Health and Rehab Center, Diversicare of Nicholasville)
• A failure to establish and maintain infection prevention and control to provide residents a safe environment (Bridge Point Center, Brookdale Richmond Place Skilled Nursing Facility, Campbellsville Nursing and Rehab Center, Clifton Place, Diversicare of Seneca Place, Dover Manor, Fordsville Nursing and Rehab Center, Hardinsburg Nursing and Rehab Center, Harrodsburg Health and Rehab Center, Hopkins Center, Kensington Center, Lake Way Nursing and Rehab Center, Morgantown Care and Rehab Center)
• Not following established protocols involving contact isolation precautions involving highly contagious residents to eliminate the spread of transmittable infections including Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (Clifton Oaks Care Center)
• Not establishing infection protection protocols involving suction machines (Cumberland Nursing and Rehab Center)

The nursing staff must follow established protocols to prevent facility-acquired pressure ulcers, decubitus ulcers, bedsores, pressure wounds, and pressure sores. Serious concerns involving the development of bedsores in Kentucky nursing homes include:

• The nursing home failed to ensure a bruise was appropriately assessed and monitored for one resident involving developing bedsores (Campbellsville Nursing and Rehab Center, Clifton Oaks Care Center, Hopkins Center, Klondike Center, Rockcastle Health and Rehab Center)

The nursing home cannot use a physical restraint for convenience or to control the resident. Restraints can only be used after they have been approved for use through a Physician’s orders that follow established law and regulations. Serious concerns involving the use of restraints and Kentucky nursing homes include:

• A failure to ensure residents were free from physical restraints without defining their need according to medical symptoms (Bridge Point Center)
• The resident lost their right to be free of physical restraints that were imposed for discipline or staff convenience (Brookdale Richmond Place Skilled Nursing Facility)

Other serious safety concerns include a failure to notify the resident’s Doctor or family member of a change in the resident’s condition including a decline in their health. Without Physician notification, the resident will not receive adequate treatment that could improve or maintain their well-being.