Ninety-five of Connecticut’s 203 nursing homes are overdue for recertification inspections that are required in facilities every 16 months, according to state data. At the same time, immediate jeopardy orders — findings that indicate violations in a nursing home caused or were likely to cause harm or death to residents — have escalated. The state Department of Public Health issued 17 such orders in 2018, nine in 2019, 15 in 2020 and 16 in 2021. By 2022, the number jumped to 24, and the state reported 12 in the first six months of this year.
Since April 2019, 20 people have died in connection with those violations, state data show. More than a third of those have occurred since October.
An analysis of 93 immediate jeopardy findings issued by the state’s public health department since January 2018 reveals that cases appear to have become more egregious. In 2018, for example, none of the immediate jeopardy cases involved deaths, and six facilities were cited for failing to properly clean glucometers.
During the last seven months, several disturbing cases have surfaced.
A man at a Bloomfield nursing home, deemed at risk of harming himself, died after ingesting bleach from a bottle left within his reach by a nurse aide, records show.
An employee at a Danbury nursing home was fired after he allegedly sexually assaulted a resident who had her roommate call police to get help.
A Waterford facility was evacuated after floors were torn up as part of a renovation project and officials failed to test for asbestos (it was later detected in the building), according to state documents. Sixty-nine residents across two units were temporarily moved out of the home.
And at least four people overdosed at a Manchester nursing home during a two-month period. One resident died.
Read more: CT nursing home conditions raise alarms as inspections lag