Dozens of PA Nursing Homes Pose Risk To Patients

Nearly three dozen nursing homes in Western Pennsylvania have been found deficient in caring for their patients – with some being accused of placing residents at risk of immediate harm.

Over the course of a three-year investigation, federal safety inspectors uncovered a shocking range of problems: locked doors and gates, simmering steam tables and dirty cookware.

Six nursing homes in three counties – Westmoreland, Allegheny, and Lawrence – accounted for most of the failing marks.

Some of the deficiencies at these facilities were so glaring that residents were declared to be in “immediate jeopardy.”

The inspection was conducted by the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

The Pennsylvania elder care facilities named in the report are:

• The Cedars of Monroeville
• Caring Heights Community Care & Rehab Center in Coraopolis
• Edison Manor Nursing & Rehabilitation Center in New Castle
• West Haven Manor in Apollo
• Mountainview Specialty Care Center in Greensburg
• Latrobe Health and Rehabilitation Center in Latrobe.

Each year nursing home residents in Pennsylvania suffer injuries and death as the result of elder care negligence.

Following were some of the reported problems at the above facilities:

• A steam table that contained water as hot as 185 degrees was regularly left simmering in a kitchen open to seven cognitively impaired residents.
• Gates and doors were unlocked at all times, leaving 117 residents vulnerable.
• The 107-bed Latrobe center was cited for a dirty frying pan and failing to help a resident move closer to the table. Six months later, the home was socked again for nearly $77,000 in unpaid bills for essential services such as food, medical supplies, and water.

Pennsylvania has the fourth highest percentage of people 65 and older in the country. As a result, it also has a huge number of senior care facilities.

If you or a loved one has been harmed or abused in an elder care facility in Pennsylvania, or if you have not received the treatment you deserve, you are entitled to a free conversation with a qualified Pennsylvania nursing home injury lawyer to discuss your legal options.