Nursing home fined $500 after negligence leads to resident’s death
By Amy Cutler
Click here for updates on this story
MESA, Arizona (KTVK, KPHO) — A viewer reached out, claiming a nursing home employee’s negligence led to the death of a patient. Arizona’s Family dug in, looking into inspection reports and fines for that Mesa facility — Sante of Mesa. The case was handed over to police, where it stands is unclear.
On its website, Sante of Mesa said, “it’s doing more and giving our best when you need it most.” However, a licensing review by the state and a subsequent correction plan raises questions. In them, officials determine, “residents are not being provided the necessary services to prevent harm.”
In September, an RN was trying to give a resident their medicine. However, they were unable to swallow, according to the report. The RN then crushed up the medication and put it in applesauce. When that didn’t work, he “dissolved the medication tablets in lukewarm water to administer them through the PICC line.” That means the oral medication was put into the bloodstream.
Moments later, the resident died; the report stated, “resident #318 coded and expired.” When questioned, the nurse said, “he’d never done it before and in that moment, it seemed like a good idea.” He was terminated because he violated the facility policy.
Arizona’s Family wondered how this was able to happen? And what if any protocols were put in place to prevent this from happening again? Arizona’s Family called several times and also emailed. Unfortunately, we have not received a response as of yet.
Perhaps more concerning, officials found the home reported the death but didn’t include any additional details. According to the state’s website, Sante of Mesa received a $500 fine for the death.
Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.
