DPH Cites Norwich Nursing Home For Coronavirus Violations

NORWICH, CT — The state Department of Public Health has cited a Norwich Nursing Home for serious coronavirus infection control violations.

The DPH issued a statement of deficiency for the Three Rivers Nursing Home following an investigation into an ongoing outbreak of COVID-19 that has so far infected 21 residents of the facility and five staff members. Three of the residents to test positive have died and one is hospitalized. The rest are recovering in the Three Rivers facility, segregated from other residents who have not tested positive.

The DPH investigation began Aug. 17, and has included daily on-site visits, reviews of facility records, and interviews with multiple residents and staff at Three Rivers.

A statement of deficiency is a federal enforcement action made by DPH as the investigatory agent for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the federal entity that regulates nursing home participation in the Medicare and Medicaid programs. Findings of deficiency can be made after violations in management or practice are found in a nursing home that puts patient care at risk. In this case, DPH has issued a finding of immediate jeopardy, meaning the violations are serious enough to risk imminent harm to life. In addition to these findings of violation of federal standards, DPH is investigating whether state regulations, laws or executive orders were violated by the facility.

"DPH is deeply saddened by the further loss of life in nursing homes related to COVID-19. We will continue our robust monitoring and enforcement activities in partnership with CMS to ensure that nursing homes are providing a safe environment for their residents" said Acting DPH Commissioner Deidre S. Gifford. "Our investigation uncovered system-wide failures in this nursing home in infection control practices, that merited the finding of immediate jeopardy. DPH is committed to holding facilities accountable and ensuring that improvements in patient care are made so residents’ lives are not put in danger."

Key Findings of the investigation include:

• The facility failed to ensure appropriate cohorting of residents to prevent the transmissionof COVID-19
• The facility failed to utilize Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) in accordance withCenters for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC) standards
• The facility failed to ensure appropriate designation of staff• The facility failed to maintain an updated, accurate or accessible outbreak listing of theCOVID-19 status of the residents.
• The facility failed to ensure that a required 14-day quarantine was maintained for a resident exposed to COVID-19.
• The facility also failed to ensure that an aerosolized medication was administered to that resident in a manner consistent with current infection control standards, putting that resident and staff at risk of exposure to COVID-19.
• The facility also failed to ensure that visitor screening regarding a person's recent travel history was conducted in accordance with an Executive Order dated 6/25/20 that was issued by the Governor of the State of Connecticut.
• Additionally, the facility failed to ensure appropriate storage of reusable isolation gowns to maintain infection control standards.
• The failure of the facility to implement the necessary measures to prevent the transmission of infection was determined to constitute a finding of Immediate Jeopardy (Endangering of Human Life).

By federal law, Three Rivers has 10 days to present a corrective plan of action to DPH to show how it will address the findings and improve patient care. DPH is also expecting more enforcement actions against Three Rivers to follow.