A local care center has been cited and fined by the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) after an investigation determined that inadequate care resulted in the death of a resident.
According to the CDPH, Villa Rancho Bernardo Care Center in San Diego has received a Class “AA” citation, the most severe penalty under state law, and a fine of $100,000 from the State of California.
The investigation report says the care center failed to follow physician’s orders for a 61-year-old patient with dementia who required a special chopped diet.
The patient’s food needed to be cut into small pieces every day, but the report says care center staffers failed to do so one day, serving the patient two pancakes and two uncut sausages.
As a result, the patient put all four food items into his mouth, choked and died at the center, the report states. Read the full report here.
The CDHP says the citation process is part of the Department’s ongoing enforcement efforts to protect the health and safety of patients and improve the quality of care provided to residents in nursing facilities.
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