Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles, P.C.

Florida state regulators have recently fined Azalea Court nursing home in West Palm Beach, Florida $16,000 after a patient was found on the floor with maggots crawling out of his leg cast, according to On Call with Phil Galewitz, from the Palm Beach Post.

The nursing home was cited for failing to have a comprehensive care plan for treating the patient’s broken leg, which resulted in an “infestation of maggots,” according to the inspection report. The man’s injury should have been treated every three days but the nursing home was only able to document weekly treatments.

In April 2008, just four months before the above-mentioned incident report, inspectors cited the home for a series of isolated events that it said put the health or safety of residents in immediate jeopardy. The nursing home was put on a watch list and given just one star out of five in the government’s five-star rating system to help consumers gauge the quality of care provided by nursing homes. The citations apparently did little to improve quality of care at the home.

Azalea Court is appealing, arguing that the home is cooperating fully with regulatory agencies. “Quality care is our highest priority,” reads a statement issued by the nursing home. “Government ratings are a valuable tool, but they’re no substitute for visiting a facility and meeting the staff.”

The $16,000 fine against Azalea Court is the largest fine waged against any health care provider or facility in Palm Beach County this year.

This entry was posted on Thursday, June 4th, 2009 at 11:11 am and is filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.