Government documents show that officials at
Longmeadow Nursing Care in Camden told nursing staff in some cases not
to leave any documentation indicating they were treating residents for
scabies, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported . Scabies is a highly
contagious skin condition caused by mites, according to the U.S. Library
of Medicine.
Residents with scabies
weren't isolated and proper procedures were neglected, causing employees
to contract the bugs that spread outside the facility, the documents
show.
State regulators cited the
facility in July for failing to properly address a smaller infestation
affecting a few residents, just weeks before the condition struck every
resident at Longmeadow. A nurse told inspectors the facility didn't
document the outbreak because of instructions from higher authorities.
The state Office of Long
Term Care gave the violations the most severe rating in a 12-letter
rating system after a Dec. 14 inspection.
"The failed practices
resulted in Immediate Jeopardy, which caused or could have caused
serious harm, for all 28 residents who resided in the facility," said a
report by the office.
The facility neglected to
treat staff members who developed scabies, which eventually spread to
their relatives, according to the report. The Arkansas Department of
Health doesn't suspect the outbreak has reached Camden schools, said Meg
Mirivel, a spokesman for the agency.
The facility must submit a plan of
correction. Medicare and Medicaid payments for new residents stopped
Thursday. Regulators will revisit the site before it can receive
payments again. Longmeadow will no longer be certified to receive
Medicare and Medicaid payments if it doesn't come into compliance before
March 22, basically shutting down the nursing home.
Full Article & Source:
Arkansas scabies cases in nursing homes linked to inaction
No excuse.
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