Most nursing homes pass virus inspections
Xenia facilitywas cited in August after several problems discovered.
Most nursing homes have passed state COVID-19 infection control inspections, though one local facility was cited in August for failing to test and monitor symptoms of some residents in quarantine.
Inspectors found several problems at the Hospitality Center for Rehabilitation and Healing, a 99-bed nursing home in Xenia, during a COVID-19 focused infection control investigation completed Aug. 12.
The state inspectors, alsocalled surveyors, look for whether a facility uses proper infection prevention and control practices, meeting U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid standards. Nursing
homes have had both general inspections focused on infection control and inspectors have also surveyed facilities after complaints or outbreaks to check compliance.
Hospitality Center failed to complete daily assessment screenings for five of 10 residents in a quarantine unit, state inspectors wrote in a report. Several residents were moved to the quarantine unit because of respiratory symptoms butwere not tested for COVID-19. Also, the report says the facility didn’t dispose of biohazard trash in a manner to prevent flying insects on the quarantine unit, and observed flies buzzing around one resident’s face.
No residents experienced a negative outcome from the deficiencies as cited, the report says, and the nursing home has since completed a list of corrective actions, such as training and staff
education.
Along with getting back into compliance on those issues, Paul Bergsten, CEO with Hillstone Healthcare, which operates the Xenia nursinghome, saidCMSdata shows the company has had less cases per facility on average up to this point than most nursing home providers in the state.
“We are remaining humble but vigilant with our processes that have done sowell for us up to this point,” Bergsten said.
The nursing home has had one previous resident
coronavirus case and three previous staff cases since the start of the pandemic.
Other local nursinghomes with large outbreaks were found by inspectors to have followed all COVID-19 infection control protocols set by U.S. Centers forMedicare & Medicaid.
Most nursing homes have not been cited for infection control problems during the pandemic. Ohio Department of Health lists 115 nursing homes that have been cited for infectious disease issues betweenApril 1 andAug. 30.
Some nursing homes could use better infection control procedures, said Robert Applebaum, with Scripps Gerontology Center at MiamiUniversity. But with most facilities that have had COVID-19 outbreaks, he said it is more a reflection of how much the virus is spreading in thecommunitywhere the workers are.
Applebaum contributed to a study published in June that did not find any link between a nursing home having a resident positive for COVID-19 and a facility’s quality rating from the federal government.
“If you look nationally, the states where nursing homeshavemoreCOVID are states where there’s more COVID in the general population,” Applebaum said. “Could some nursing homes have better infection control? Sure. But most of this is driven by howmany people out in theworld have it.”