KY- Nursing home staff took inappropriate photos of residents

4-28-2009 Kentucky:

Bluegrass Care and Rehabilitation Center in Lexington has been cited by state officials who allege that the staff used personal cell phones to "inappropriately photograph and make audio recordings" of residents without their knowledge, according to documents from the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services.

The staff attached songs with sexual lyrics to the photographs and circulated them to other staff members, said Cabinet spokesperson Beth Fisher.

On April 10, 2009, the facility on Pimlico Parkway received a Type A citation, the most serious that a nursing home can receive, according to documents the Herald-Leader received under the state Open Records Act.

."There was no evidence that the facility had identified or trained staff that using residents' pictures and/or recordings of a sexually exploitative nature were a form of abuse," the citation said.

Lets see, when does common sense apply? According to these rules, common sense only applies IF employees are told to use common sense!

"Interviews with facility staff, including aides, licensed staff and housekeepers revealed this was a usual event that was not recognized or identified as abuse; therefore staff failed to report the abuse to their supervisors," it said.

Jo Ann Lovell, the facility's administrator, issued a statement Tuesday saying that the nursing home administration conducted "a thorough investigation which resulted in the dismissal of several employees."

"Bluegrass Care and Rehabilitation Center's foremost concern is the care and protection of its residents and we have taken this matter very seriously," Lovell said.

The citation given by the state said the facility was not enforcing its policy that staff members could not have cell phones in resident care areas.

Lovell said Tuesday that facility officials had re-educated the entire staff on the existing policy regarding the strict prohibition against employees' use of electronic devices in resident care areas.

The Type A citation said that, as a result of the recordings and photographs, the state considered seven residents to have been abused.

"The facility failed to have an effective system in place to ensure residents were protected from abuse," the citation said. "The facility's failure placed residents in imminent danger."

Fisher, the Cabinet spokesperson, said a civil monetary fine of $6,550 per day wasimposed by the federal Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services because residents were found to be in immediate jeopardy.

Lovell said Bluegrass Care's administration "is currently working in conjunction with state and federal agencies to insure that our residents are protected now and in the future." ..News Source.. by Valarie Honeycutt Spears