When I got back from vacation recently, I had an anonymous tip in my messages. A concerned citizen wanted us to note that a Spring Garden Township personal care home had its license revoked by the state.
He wanted to make sure that we were completely aware of the concerns he had for the residents there.
Inspections at personal care homes and other assisted living homes are available to search on the state Department of Public Welfare’s website. They’re readily available at any time, but often we don’t get releases notifying us of a change. And if a home has its license revoked and it is appealed, they can stay open.
So it could be difficult for people to know if the home at which their loved ones live is having any issues that could concern them.
The violations from Sincerely Yours Personal Care Home in Spring Garden Township included several different types of violations including:
– A mouse in candy bags in a medication room, to
– Medication records were not kept for each resident
– Documentation needs to be provided when patient’s refuse to take medications
– Lack of records regarding a patient’s daily soda purchase
– Hydrogen peroxide topical solutions were left out on the kitchen sink; paint cans found in rooms
– Food stored on the floor
– A fire alarm evacuation took longer than it should have and patients were on the porch
– Some medications were found on floors or unlocked boxes
In all, some could argue that the issues are easily resolved and not of a serious enough nature to close down the home. But for me, the documents shined a light on an issue that hit a little close to home.
For most of my childhood, my aunt Peyton lived in a nursing home. She had Multiple Sclerosis at an early age. This home wasn’t in York County, but I distinctly remember the smell of urine in the home and how I was concerned over its cleanliness and her care.
We entrust our loved ones’ lives to these facilities, and it’s great that inspection information is open to the public. But what can we do to get everything in front of the family members and media? We shouldn’t have to rely solely on anonymous tips to know we should look something up.
If you have loved ones in homes, do you keep an eye out for reports?
Take a look at the paperwork below. You can find documentation from homes by searching here.
