California Nursing Home Issued "AA" Citation in Resident Death
Raintree Convalescent Hospital, located in Fresno, California, received a "AA" citation for the choking death of a resident on November 19, 2008. A "AA" citation is the worst and most severe penalty that can a facility can be assessed.
The 54 year old resident, who suffered from dementia and schizophrenia, died after choking on two whole meatballs. He had a history of difficulty swallowing upon admission to the facility in June 2006. Doctors had ordered a soft diet and indicated that he needed supervision while eating because "he stuffs his mouth with food". A soft diet requires meat to be chopped or ground. The lunch tray that the resident received that day contained two whole meatballs, spaghetti, tossed salad, a roll, two cookies, and milk. A certified nurse's aide served the man in his room and he was left alone to eat.
Sometime after his meal was delivered, the man approached a licensed vocational nurse in the hall outside of his room. He was unable to speak and pale and collapsed. Nurses tried to dislodge the food but were unsuccessful. He was taken to the hospital, where he died. The coroner listed his cause of death as aspiration of food.
Jewell Flores, the facility's Administrator, fired both the cook and nurse's aide for negligence in failing to follow nursing home procedures stating that the cook should have read the dietary card and ensured that the resident's meal followed physician's orders for a soft diet and the nurse's aide delivering the meal should have noted the meat was not ground and returned it to the kitchen.
The facility requires all staff be trained once a year on dietary procedures. The cook was trained in April and the nurse's aide was trained in September. After the death, the entire nursing staff received dietary training and new procedures were instituted. The charge nurse now inspects all food trays befor they are distributed to the residents. Additionally, once a week, the dietary supervisor watches as the food is placed on the trays and the cook has to initial each therapeutic diet that is prepared.
The Terry Law Firm is experienced in handling cases of nursing home abuse and neglect. Please contact us at 1 (888) 317-2525 or visit us at www.nursinghomejustice.com.
