Probe Results in Fine for TN Nursing Home, Block on New Admissions

A state investigation of the Bristol Nursing Home recently turned up allegations of a possible sexual assault victim who went days without a medical exam, and of a nurse who taped a patient’s mouth to keep him quiet, a report reveals.
 
The Tennessee Department of Health fined the nursing home $3,000  and has blocked new admissions until investigators are convinced they will not see a repeat performance.

Investigators accused the 120-bed facility of ignoring its own rules and state law when it failed to report immediately both abuse complaints to the state as well as to the patients’ doctors and guardians. Both patients have been diagnosed with dementia.

On Dec. 6, 2012, a housekeeper complained that a registered nurse briefly taped the patient’s mouth because he refused to stop screaming.

More than a month passed before nursing home officials told the patient’s guardian on Jan. 11, 2013. The nursing home administrator first reported the incident to the state during the investigation, on April 11, 2013.

“The allegation was not reported because I … felt like it didn’t meet the definition of abuse,” investigators quote the home administrator as saying.

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Probe Results in Fine for Bristol Nursing Home, Block on New Admissions

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