Patients Injured at Scranton Vets' Home

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

Residents at a Scranton, PA veterans nursing home suffered bone fractures and other injuries when workers at the facility failed to follow doctors' orders, according to a report from the state Health Department.
In a lengthy report recently made public, inspectors from the health agency also cited the Gino J. Merli Veterans Center for multiple violations of state and federal laws and regulations. The 196-bed facility has been cited for similar infractions in several previous state reviews.
According to the report, one patient suffered bruises and a broken collarbone in a fall from a wheelchair, while another broke a bone in his hand when he was left unattended and fell from his bed.
In another case a patient, who was supposed to be under close monitoring, wandered out of the home undetected, jumped a fence only to be spotted crossing a local street.
The home "failed to provide sufficient staff" to prevent accidents for three patients and the elopement of a fourth, the inspection report states
Officials from the state Department of Military and Veterans Affairs filed a corrective action plan with the Health Department in which they promised to take numerous steps to avoid recurrences.
Agency spokeswoman Joan Nissley said the plan of correction was accepted by state health officials and has already been implemented.
Nissley said additional staffers have been hired for the Scranton facility but not in response to the inspection report.
"When areas of concern are identified, we take immediate action to address and rectify them, with a continued focus on the safety and care of residents," Nissley said.
The patient who fell from his bed "required extensive assistance from two staffers for bed mobility, dressing and transfer," the inspection report states, nonetheless a single worker was present at the time of the incident.
The patient was left sitting at the edge of his bed when the aide left him to adjust the bed. The resident fell and suffered a broken bone in his hand and a facial laceration, according to the report.
A second resident who was severely cognitively impaired was left sitting in a wheelchair. He nodded off and fell, fracturing his collarbone.
Yet a third patient fell when workers "failed to follow" his care plan.
The resident who wandered out of the home did so on Dec. 17 of last year. A device that would sound an alarm if he attempted to leave the building had been removed earlier in the day because he was no longer at risk for elopement.
Though he was still supposed to be closely monitored, he left the facility undetected at 4:17 p.m..
Footage from a surveillance camera showed he jumped a fence and left the area. By chance a home worker on a coffee break at a local store spotted him crossing a street. He was brought back to the home unharmed and told workers he wanted to go see his wife.
Other items cited in the report include the failure to make residents aware of grievance procedures and failing to document that narcotic drugs were actually administered to patients. While the facility records showed a licensed practical nurse retrieved the drugs from a supply area, there was no documentation that the pills were actually delivered to the patient as required.
The report states that home management "failed to ensure that nursing services met professional standards of quality" and failed to ensure the accurate administration of narcotic medications for five of 29 residents.
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