A 200-bed assisted living facility located at 534 Datura Street, West Palm Beach, FL 33401-5308, Colonial Assisted Living at West Palm Beach has been owned by Senior Housing Management Provider LLC since 2009. The facility states that it provides residents “with an outstanding quality of life on every level.” However, the same facility has been fined ten times since 2009, for a total of $14,200 in fines.
The fines are imposed by the Agency for Health Care Administration, who conducts routine, unannounced inspection surveys of nursing home and assisted living facilities to ensure their compliance with federal regulations. A summary of recent inspections conducted at Colonial Assisted Living at West Palm Beach which resulted in a finding of a deficiency are listed below:
Standard Statement of Deficiencies at Colonial Assisted Living at West Palm Beach, Dated 4/25/2019
During a routine relicensure and complaint investigation, the surveyor found that Colonial Assisted Living at West Palm Beach had several deficiencies with regard to keeping accurate Medical Observation Records, staff training, and ensuring that living conditions were safe. With regard to the Medical Observation Records, staff had failed to initial medication as given for certain residents and the controlled substance count records were missing signatures or had no signatures at all. This may result in medication errors. In addition, the facility did not ensure that two staff members had received the requisite additional training within nine (9) months of their employment.
Finally, the surveyor found that several rooms were in disrepair. In one room, the TV stand was deteriorating and a shelf in the TV stand was also missing. Walls in another room had extension cables hanging in the air near the entrance door and the resident of that room had used that cord to hang clothes. On another floor, the floor was observed to be extremely sticky, and two residents stated that the floor is always that way before and after they mop the area. In yet another room, the faceplate was missing for a phone jack and there were insect feces and skeletons observed where the faceplate should be. The tile floors of several rooms had cracks and dents that would pose a hazard to residents if they were walking barefoot.
Monitor Statement of Deficiencies Dated 2/26/2019 at Colonial Assisted Living at West Palm Beach
In the course of this unannounced survey, AHCA found that one staff member, a medical technician, had not yet received a two-hour medication training course but had been providing assistance with self-administration of medication. Moreover, the facility did not have an approved Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan. The facility had submitted two versions for review, and a third was pending review and approval at the time the survey was conducted. Finally, the facility did not have an approved Emergency Environmental Control Plan to the local emergency management agency.
Complaint Statement at Colonial Assisted Living at West Palm Beach Dated 4/20/2018
On April 20, 2018, a survey conducted with the local department of health found that the facility had numerous issues that were a risk to the safety and well-being of the residents. The findings included pests, such as roaches and bedbugs, and rodents. During the survey, it was learned that cats often kill rodents on the patio and that the maintenance staff come by to then clean up the dead rodents. Management was assumed to have knowledge of this but had not taken steps to prevent it. The kitchen was also found to be unsatisfactory, and interviews revealed that the cook had quit and walked out the previous week, and a new one had started that day. Although the facility had also hired someone for the position of housekeeper, the person had declined the job.
Lawsuit vs. Colonial Assisted Living at West Palm Beach?
If you or a loved one were wrongfully injured at Colonial Assisted Living in West Palm Beach, or at any other local long term care facility, our West Palm Beach assisted living facility abuse attorneys can help. Call us now for a completely complimentary ALF negligence case evaluation at 561.717.0817.
