Amidst accusations of patient neglect, Focus Rehabilitation and Nursing Center has found itself in the news. It faces fines in connection with an incident that took place over Memorial Day weekend, and it has also been criticized for an event that led to four staff members being charged with criminal charges.
The company, located in Otsego, used to belong to Otsego Manor. However, when the nursing home found itself in financial trouble, it was sold off to Focus Ventures in 2014. Today, there are reports of inadequate patient care.
The news reports that a female patient was left alone for 41 hours without care over Memorial Day weekend. The woman, who is 94 years old, was in a recliner the entire time. She suffered a pressure sore. Four health care providers were fired for the incident and had charges placed against them by the Attorney General’s Office.
Since then, the facility claims it has retrained the staff to avoid neglect, abuse and the mistreatment of patients. The State Department of Health accepted the company’s correction actions and plan for further training. Another issue that the facility and one fired staff member brought up was that state nursing homes are finding themselves with low staff levels, making it hard to make ends meet. Whether or not this issue was related to staffing levels alone remains to be seen, but it’s unlikely that the neglect shown stemmed from a lack of time over that busy weekend.
Nursing home neglect can be a terrifying topic for those who are moving into facilities or placing a loved one there. Situations like the above should never happen, and if they do, there are legal options for victims to take.
Source: The Daily Star, “Staffing concerns plague Focus,” Denise Richardson, Aug. 15, 2016
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