Nursinghome

Previously, a spokesperson said in apublic statement thatMaria-Joseph is committed to resident safety.

“The staff and residents at Maria-JosephNursing and RehabilitationCenterarevery saddenedbythelossofoneof our residents. We are, on all levels, assisting in the investigation of this tragic incident. We continuously strive to ensure the safety of the residents in our care. Due to the status of the open investigation, we are unable to comment further at this time.”

The department of health launcheditsinvestigationafter authorities found 86-yearold Sofiya Perel dead inside awalk-in freezer at Maria-JosephNursing& Rehabilitation Center, 4830 Salem Ave. on Sept. 15.

The state said the facility failed to provide adequate supervision to prevent a cognitively impairedresident fromeloping froma secured dementia unit.

“The resident eloped from a secured unit on the fourth floorthroughthestairwellexit door locatedat the southernmostpointofthesecuredunit. The resident was found on thesecondfloorof theEmma building in the kitchen, inside of walk-in cooler deceased,” the report says.

Investigatorssaidtheyinterviewed the nurse aide about silencing the alarm and was told “she had seen another aidecomingdownthehalland assumedshehadtriggeredthe alarm. That iswhy she didn’t check the stairwell before silencing the alarm.”

Inspectors also reported the facility failed to notify the stateofanallegationofneglect whichresultedinbodilyharm within 24 hours. The state inspectors came up with a plan of correction, which the facility is implementing.

Part of this plan includes that starting Sept. 16, for four weeks, the administrator or designee completed random weekly audits and interviews ofstaffandresidentstoensure allegations of neglect were reported within 24 hours to the state agency.

Someotherpartsofthecorrection plan include that the staffwerealsore-educatedon the facility’s elopement policies, aqualityassurancecommitteemeetingforfourweeks toreviewthe action plan, and a supervisorconducting daily audits for fourweeks tomake sure the kitchen is secured correctly.

TheMariaNursing& Rehabilitation said in a reviewthat it hadmade a number of corrective training steps with all employees after adementia patient’s death.