Two nursing homes in Collier County were found to have care violations

WINK News continues its coverage of violations that have been committed in nursing homes by focusing on two facilities in the county of Collier

The Heritage Health Rehabilitation Center came under fire after it was discovered that patients were allowed to administer their own medication without being required to provide documentation.

According to a report submitted to the state, medical staff at the Bentley Care Center in Naples performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on a patient despite the presence of a do-not-resuscitate (DNR) form.

WINK News has previously covered the story of a nursing home in Cape Coral, Florida, that was not successful in preventing ulcers. According to the state, the facility is now in full compliance with all regulations.

In the event that corrective action is not taken, the nursing homes in Collier County could be subject to repercussions. If something like that takes place, the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration will become involved.

Is the fact that there are not enough people on staff at the nursing home a valid reason for refusing to honor the patients’ wishes regarding end-of-life care?

Patient advocate Mary Daniel said it’s not a simple yes or no question.

When Daniel decided to work in a nursing home during the pandemic so that she could be near her husband, the news spread quickly and made national headlines. “It is very difficult to say that you want your loved one to die, but you want their wishes to be followed, and you want their suffering to end,” said the woman. “But you want their wishes to be followed.”

Because a do not resuscitate form was not present, the Bentley Care Center in Naples “Failed to honor documented advance directives and administered CPR,” according to the findings of a report that has a total length of 12 pages.

When the patient was readmitted, the facility “Failed to pull over… From the closed record,” according to an employee who was interviewed during the investigation conducted by the state.

“In all honesty, I do not think that they are intending to cause these residents any kind of harm by doing what they are doing,” I said. “It’s just a matter of being overwhelmed, not having enough staff, and just not having enough time in the day to do it the right way,” said Daniel. “I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.”

Vi, the company that owns the Bentley Care Center in Naples, said the following in a statement that was provided to WINK News:

For more than three decades, we have placed the utmost importance on ensuring the health and happiness of the people who call Bentley Village home. After an isolated incident at the skilled nursing facility that our community operates (the Bentley Care Center), we notified the Agency for Health Care Administration (“AHCA”), which is Florida’s healthcare licensing authority. Since then, we have collaborated with them in an open and honest manner to develop a plan of correction, which includes providing supplemental education for the members of our team. Our plan was immediately put into action after it was given the green light by AHCA. We are confident in our plan of action for the way forward, and we will continue to provide our residents with high-quality medical care.

The time that Daniel spent working in a nursing home was eye-opening for her regarding the need for most facilities to improve their protocols.

A separate investigation by the state found that staff at Heritage Healthcare and Rehab Center gave four residents access to “Unsecured medications at the bedside” before determining whether or not they had the “Ability to safely self-administer.” This was caused by a lack of protocols at the facility.

By making these concerns more widely known, Daniels hopes that it will encourage families of nursing home patients and residents to inquire about them.

“We are the only ones who can enter and truly protect our loved ones from harm,” the speaker said. Daniels explained that “we are the eyes and the ears inside that facility in order to see what is happening and to know whether it is right or wrong.”

WINK News has attempted to get a comment from the Heritage Healthcare and Rehab Center, but we have not received a response to our inquiry.

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