2013 State Survey Confirms Golden Living Center- Westminster Remains a “Much Below Average” Facility
Golden Living Center – Westminster located in Westminster, Maryland is a much below average facility according to the federal government website, Nursing Home Compare. This 1 star facility did nothing to improve upon its low rating during its September 2013 state survey on which found 20 health deficiencies which is nearly triple the national average.
Keep in mind that residents are paying a king’s ransom to live and receive care at this facility. Golden Living Center – Westminster is a 170 bed skilled nursing facility located in Carroll County, Maryland that charges $290 per day for a private room and $260 per day for a room housing three or four residents. Yet, according to the most recent survey, Golden Living Center – Westminster failed one or more residents in multiple ways, including some of these instances where the facility:
- FAILED to appropriately dress or redress resident wounds per facility protocol.
- FAILED to accommodate the needs of residents by making it impossible for them to reach their call bells. Employees also placed and left a resident at a dining room table where she was unable to see her food because her mouth and tip of her nose where at the height of the table.
- FAILED to respect patients’ dignity by allowing a resident with Alzheimer’s to walk around with only a top on in full view of anyone who walked by the room where the employee failed to close the door.
- FAILED to ensure that the residents had a nutritional and balanced diet
- FAILED to complete a nutritional plan for the entirety of a resident’s stay at the facility.
- FAILED to discard expired food.
- FAILED to properly store medications or label their expiration dates accordingly.
- FAILED to follow the physician orders before dressing a patient’s wound.
- FAILED to provide the necessary lab tests for 20% patients reviewed.
- FAILED to maintain the residents dignity in the eating areas because there was not appropriate seating and a nursing assistant fed a resident standing up.
- FAILED in providing appropriate maintenance for the various wheelchairs and geriatric chairs for over 10% of the facility residents.
- FAILED to conduct initial and periodic assessments for its residents.
- FAILED to give an assessment to a resident who had a fall and needed a new plan of care.
- FAILED to provide an individualized plan of care and goals for some residents.
- FAILED to update the plan of care for residents when weights and heights were not correct. Further, unexpected weight loss or gain by one or more residents was not dealt with appropriately.
- FAILED to control infection potential on resident wheelchairs.
- FAILED to give privacy to a resident during a family visit by walking into a room without allowing the inhabitants to acknowledge his knock.
When a nursing home has nearly three times the citations as the average American nursing home and remains a 1 star facility which, according to the Medicare rating, is a much below average facility, you have to look at why. What is the cause of these obvious and potentially dangerous failures? The most obvious reason is lack of sufficient staffing.
According to the Maryland Consumer Health Commission (MCHC) Consumer Guide to Long Term Care Golden Living Center – Westminster is deficient in almost every single staffing area when compared to the Maryland averages. You can see the MCHC chart below:
| Key Staffing Areas: | Golden Living Center — Westminster | Maryland Average |
| Number RN Hours per Resident Day | 33 minutes | 54 minutes |
| Number LPN/LVN Hours per Resident Day | 1 hour 3 minutes | 54 minutes |
| Total Number of Licensed Staff Hours per Resident Day (RN hours + LPN/LVN Hours) | 1 hour 36 minutes | 1 hour 48 minutes |
| Number CNA (certified nursing assistant) Hours per Resident Day | 2 hours 0 minutes | 2 hours 23 minutes |
| Number Therapy Hours per Resident Day | 3 minutes | 8 minutes |
| % Direct care staff employed 2 years or more* | 75% | 60% |
When the staffing budget is reduced, nursing home residents suffer. Here, Golden Living Center – Westminster residents receive just 2 hours of CNA care per day. Certified Nursing Assistants do the vast majority of the day-to-day care for residents. If residents are only receiving care from them for 2 hours a day, what are they doing the rest of the day? Of course, in this case, the facility reports having 1 hour and 36 minutes of additional care by licensed nurses, but much of that care is with wound care, giving medications and doing other nursing duties. But even if you factor that additional time in, residents at this facility are essentially on their own for over 20 hours per day!
What happens when nursing homes are poorly staffed?
The most common nursing home model is for there to be a ratio of nursing staff to patients. For example, one CNA may be responsible for providing care for 10 residents. If staffing levels are cut even more, then that means the same CNA is now responsible for providing the same level of care for maybe 12 residents. Ask virtually any CNA if they have the time to take on additional residents and you will likely hear a resounding NO!
When there is not enough staff, residents tend to lay in their bed longer which may result in bed sores. When residents who can walk with assistance, need to go to the restroom, they may use the call light for help, but with too few staff members, that help may never come. The resident may try to go to the bathroom themselves which then results in a fall. Residents who need help eating or drinking may not receive the help they need and try it on their own which could result in choking.
When the direct care staff is stable, that typically spells good news for residents, but here 75% of the facility’s direct care staff has been with the facility for 2 years or more and the facility still remains a 1 star facility with nearly three times the citations as the national average. So, maybe the trouble with this facility is that the staff is not receiving quality training or supervision. Either way, it presents a warning for all future residents.
Golden Living Center – Westminster has definitely exceeded in an area that they shouldn’t. Unfortunately, it is the residents who bear the brunt of the nursing home’s failures in the form of abuse and neglect. If you or a loved one has suffered injury as a result of neglect or abuse at a Golden Living facility, call 410-825-ABUSE (2287) or visit our website www.NursingHomeJustice.com.