A Bethesda nursing home could become ineligible for Medicare and Medicaid payments for resident care after a series of surprise inspections found deficiencies in the care given patients.
Wendy Kronmiller, director of the state Office of Health Care Quality, said the Bethesda Health and Rehabilitation Center, at 5721 Grosvenor Lane, is the only nursing home in the state she has recommended be denied the government reimbursements during her 18-month tenure.
Kronmiller said representatives of her office have conducted three surveys of care at the site this year, and each time the facility has not been in substantial compliance with requirements for participation in the Medicare-Medicaid program.
“This is not anything in isolation,” Kronmiller said. “It is a chain of events.”
One of the most tragic incidents occurred when a woman who used a tracheotomy tube to breathe died after the tube became clogged with mucus.
“This is not supposed to happen. It is supposed to be checked and cleaned periodically,” Kronmiller said. “Not only did this incident happen, but the facility’s follow-up was not sufficient or appropriate. There were inconsistent versions about what happened when the person was found with her airway blocked. 911 was called, but it was too late.”
Bethesda Health and Rehabilitation’s management team takes seriously the obligation to protect the health and safety of residents, said regional clinical director Ronda Bell.
“We are aggressively working in communication with the state to maintain compliance with all applicable requirements,” Bell said. “Our expectation and goal is that our actions will move us toward compliance in the near future.”
Kronmiller acknowledged the facility showed improvement during the most recent survey, conducted Sept. 17-20.
“In the last survey, we didn’t find actual harm deficiencies, but we found problems which could have led to actual harm,” Kronmiller said. One of those issues involved a resident with mental health problems who Kronmiller said “wandered off, and nobody knew where she was.”
The nursing home owners have asked for one last shot at compliance before being removed from participation in the government programs. Kronmiller said she supported another evaluation of care at the home because “they have made great effort and are on the right path.” She declined to say when the follow-up visit would occur.
