Waterford Nursing Home Fined For Resident's Improper Touching

WATERFORD, CT—A Waterford nursing home was one of four fined by the state Department of Public Health after inspections uncovered various violations, most of which caused injuries to residents. Greentree Manor Nursing & Rehabilitation Center in Waterford was fined $3,820 after a resident inappropriately touched two other residents and a 4-year-old visitor, Connecticut Health I-Team reported.

The resident, who it was reported had "shown a pattern of sexual, inappropriate behaviors," was supposed to be checked on by staff every 5 minutes and have one-on-one room supervision.

In February of 2018, the nursing home resident was "accused of grabbing another resident’s breast, but no staff witnessed the incident." Despite previously being checked every five minutes, it was reported that "the accused resident was put on one-on-one supervision until the next day, when psychiatry staff recommended the supervision be downgraded to checks every 15 minutes." Less than 10 days after the incident, on Feb. 17, 2018, "another resident reported seeing the same resident grab another resident’s groin on a couch outside the director of nursing’s office."

Worse, on the same day, "a licensed practical nurse saw the resident near a nurse’s station reach an arm around a 4-year-old visitor and grab the child’s buttocks," according to DPH.

It was reported that "in all three cases, staff should have been monitoring the resident and redirecting the resident away from the other residents and the visitor, according to the citation."

Facility officials didn’t return a call seeking comment by the Connecticut Health I-Team

The other nursing homes called out by DPH were the River Glen Health Care Center in Southbury, fined $10,000 for two instances in which staff failed to use wheelchair foot rests, injuring residents; the Avery Heights, also known as Avery Nursing, in Hartford, which was fined $6,120 after a resident with dementia was injured in a fall; and The Watermark at East Hill in Southbury was fined $6,120 after a resident suffered a broken femur in a fall.