A $50,000 fine issued this week to Mayers Memorial Hospital District in Fall River Mills stemming from the death of a patient is the hospital’s fifth citation from state health regulators in a little more than a year.
The hospital’s nursing home was cited by state health regulators four times last year and paid a total of $18,900 in administrative fines, according to California Department of Public Health citation records.
The nursing home was fined twice for a total of $2,900 for failing to report possible elder abuse of two emergency room patients, according to the citation records.
Mayers also paid $1,000 after an employee repeatedly made fun of an elderly dementia patient’s inappropriate behavior toward other hospital employees, records show.
But the largest fine in 2009 was a $15,000 citation stemming from the January death of a 23-year-old man who was admitted to the nursing home in October 2008 for complications of severe diabetes.
The facility was cited for failing to administer CPR when the patient stopped breathing and went into cardiac arrest, despite a doctor’s standing order to resuscitate the man.
Only one other Shasta county nursing home, the much larger Canyonwood Nursing and Rehab Center in Redding, was cited more times in 2009, with five infractions totaling $4,000 in fines, according to Department of Public Health records.
Canyon has 115 licensed skilled nursing beds and Mayers nursing home has 22 licensed acute care beds.
This week’s $50,000 fine at Mayers was one of the largest state health officials could levy against a care facility.
Officials allege that in March an elderly nursing home patient with Alzheimer’s disease died of pneumonia five days after inhaling part of a meat and cheese sandwich. The patient, who had only two teeth and limited ability to chew, wasn’t supposed to eat anything other than food that had been ground up for him, officials said.
Mayers President Mike Kerns described the incident as an anomaly and said it didn’t reflect the quality of care patients receive at the hospital.
Berman & Riedel, LLP is a San Diego firm that represents victims of elder abuse and neglect throughout the state of California. If you would like to speak with an elder abuse attorney, call Berman & Riedel, LLP today at (858) 350-8855. Our staff will happily provide you and your family with an initial free consultation to discuss with you any questions or concerns you have regarding the care an elderly loved one is receiving in a nursing home or other type of California elder care facility. To learn more about the firm, visit www.preventelderabuse.com.
