The Summerville at Potomac nursing home in Potomac, Maryland was slapped with a $10,000 fine and has been banned until further notice from accepting new patients after a survey revealed very serious violations in state and federal regulations. In fact, the violations were so serious, the Director of the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene's Office of Health Care Quality said, "These are very serious violations. We do not see them routinely." She went on to say, "We do not direct a plan of correction routinely."
The facility must complete a six-point "directed plan of correction" issued by the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene after a November survey uncovered improperly cared for pressure sores, mismanaged medications, no intervention for patients at risk for falls, and failure to report excessive weight gain and loss. Many of the problems were attributed to the lack of a delegating nurse. A delegating nurse is a registered nurse who monitors patient care and issues patient care directives to the staff. A delegating nurse is to visit the facility every 45 days, but at Summerville, no delegating nurse had been at the facility since August.
The residents' conditions were poor. One woman was suffering from an infected pressure sore that emitted a foul odor and greenish-yellow discharge. Another resident gained 49 pounds in four months and the weight gain was not reported to a physician. Another resident fell nearly ten times and no fall prevention plan was put into place. Another resident did not receive any pain medication during wound treatment. Residents on pureed diets were fed food in which all items were mixed together, rather than separately.
The six-point "directed plan of correction" orders Summerville to appoint a full-time registered nurse, examine the skin of each patient and report findings, enlist a wound-care specialist to address ulcer concerns, operate under a monitor that will report to officials, and to advise residents and their families of the poor survey result.
