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In the interest of speed and timeliness, this story is fed directly from the Associated Press newswire and may contain spelling or grammatical errors.
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State health officials cite Sacramento care home
Wednesday June 18, 2003
SACRAMENTO (AP) A Sacramento nursing home was cited and fined
$75,000 for the death of a patient, state health officials said
Wednesday.
Poor care by the Gramercy Court nursing home led to the death of
the 80-year-old patient, said Diana M. Bonta, director of the state
Department of Health Services.
The patient was admitted to the facility in August, 2002, with a
neurological condition caused by swelling in the spinal cord,
hypothyroidism and anemia. He was dependent on nursing staff for
most of his activities, DHS said.
On Jan. 25, the man was taken to the emergency room five days
after the staff noticed his health had deteriorated. He died there
three days later of acute pneumonia.
DHS found that for several days before his hospitalization,
there were no documents that indicate the patient had a complete
nursing assessment. The investigation also found no documents to
show that the patient's doctor was told of changes in his blood
pressure and temperature or that he had developed a cough.
A phone message left at the Gramercy Court offices was not
immediately returned. The facility can appeal the citation.
(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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