Keep in mind that the facility in question, the Villages of Orleans Health and Rehabilitation Center in Albion, is already being sued by the New York Attorney General for arguably even more serious allegations.

And remember, this same establishment was fined $66,632 for Covid-19 violations in 2020.

The horrors in the villages are only piling up. His latest problem, as the News’ Jon Harris reported, Nursing home faces more than $80,000 in state and federal fines after major medication error sent one of its residents to the hospital earlier this year.

State inspectors found that on Jan. 4, a licensed practical nurse “mistakenly administered Resident #2’s medications to Resident #1.” These medications included an antipsychotic medication; a sleeping pill; a cholesterol-lowering medication; an antidepressant; heart medications and more.

Not surprisingly, Resident #1 became confused, had incoherent speech, and was transferred to the hospital. The resident survived and returned to the facility, but state inspectors called the error “immediately dangerous” in terms of severity and an example of “substandard quality of care.”

This wasn’t the only medication incident; another, observed by inspectors, found nurses pouring medications into paper cups, some of which were unlabeled, without then being able to identify which ones were in which cup.

A plan of correction was approved and the nursing home took steps to resolve the issues.

But drug incidents are just some of the problems at The Villages, if allegations in New York State’s 2022 lawsuit against the facility prove true. These include disturbing incidents of patient mistreatment as well as the diversion of $18.6 million in Medicaid and Medicare reimbursements that were intended for patient care but allegedly went into the owners’ pockets.

According to the lawsuit, residents often lacked hygiene, prescribed medications, meals, telephones and hot water.

Here are just two of the incidents detailed in the state allegations, as reported by Natalie Brophy and Patrick Lakamp of The News:

• An active 59-year-old man died in a hospital nine months after living in The Villages. He had lost 40 pounds as well as his ability to walk or talk.
• A resident who has since died was found lying on a bare mattress, wearing only a diaper when his wife came to visit. His wife transferred him to another facility, stating that she “wouldn’t put a dog in the villages.”

Attorney General Letitia James’ lawsuit demands owners return money they diverted from resident care and stop admitting patients, saying the Villages’ “egregious history of insufficient and unqualified staff and poor quality of care is directly attributable to (the) inadmissible conversion. millions of dollars in initial profits taken from the villages.

The state’s investigation included, among other evidence, interviews with residents and employees, analysis of residents’ medical records and detailed illustrations of patient histories.

The Villages’ current owners, a group of 12 investors, took it over in January 2015. At that time, the property boasted a five-star quality rating from New York State. By April 2015, this rating had dropped to one star.

In 2021, the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services designated The Villages as a Special Orientation Facility, a designation reserved for the nation’s lowest-performing nursing homes.

In addition to inadequate patient care, Villages is also accused of neglecting its debts to workers, and is being sued by Favorite Healthcare Staffing and Rochester-based WorkFit Medical. for the staffing services they provided.

Overall, the medication errors, Covid violations, and well-documented allegations in the AG’s lawsuit draw damning conclusions about this facility. Even in the often troubled world of nursing homes, the Villages set a terrible example.

Surprising that these owners are still allowed to operate it.

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