Smoking Kentucky Nursing Home Residents Not Supervised Because "They Turn Violent"
Smoking residents at a Kentucky nursing home are not supervised while smoking because "they turn violent if their cigarettes or pipes are taken away", according to records obtained by the Kentucky Herald-Leader.
Nursing home inspectors found 19 deficiencies at Parkview Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in between January 1, 2010 and January 31, 2011, according to a spokesperson for the Cabinet for Health and Family Services. The facility has been added to the federal Special Focus Facilities list, which is a list of the nation's most troubled nursing homes. Kentucky boasts four facilities on that list.
According to the report, on June 3, staff allowed a mentally disabled resident to leave a smoking room with a pipe. The resident reportedly fell asleep with the lit pipe and the mattress caught fire. The mattress smoldered and the resident was found on his knees, coughing in the hallway. He sustained second degree burns to his hand in the incident. The facility was issued a Type A citation for the incident on June 14. According to federal guidelines, nursing homes are allowed to have smoking rooms, but facility staff is required to supervise and assist residents who are unable to safely handle smoking materials. Because the resident involved in this incident became physically and verbally combative when his smoking materials were taken, staff members allowed him to keep his pipe and had been doing so for four years.
Other immediate jeopardy incidents found at the facility involved failures to keep the facility free of dangers that could cause accidents, failure to follow care plans, and failure to run the facility in such a manner that it leads to the highest level of well-being for the residents.
Parkview Nursing and Rehabilitation Care joins Arbor Place, Bluegrass Care and Rehabilitation, and James S. Taylor Memorial Home on the federal Special Focus Facilities list. The James S. Taylor Memorial Home has since voluntarily closed its doors.
