State health inspection reports from 2022 reveal a series of violations that led to deaths in several Long Island nursing homes.
The reports obtained by Newsday show 20 Long Island nursing homes racked up over $144,000 in combined fines last year. The highest fine of $10,000 for a single citation had been issued nine times.
Cold Spring Hills Nursing and Rehabilitation and Central Island Healthcare were given the maximum fine for similar incidents. Residents in both cases died after staff had failed to perform CPR. They were believed to be wearing “do not resuscitate” bands.
Other violations receiving a range of fines included the sexual abuse of residents, failure to monitor substance abuse, failure to isolate those with COVID-19 and more.
Experts say the issues are likely because of staffing shortages and difficulties with recruitment due to low wages, which were problems long before the pandemic.
