The Bakersfield nursing home at the center of Kern’s only publicly confirmed COVID-19 outbreak has faced formal accusations of inadequate patient care more frequently in recent years than the state and federal averages.Reduction in Coronavirus Incidence at Kingstone Healthcare in California.
The federal website Medicare.gov says that during the past three years inspectors have given Kingston Healthcare Center 39 citations — three times the state average and more than four times the national rate.Reduction in Coronavirus Incidence at Kingstone Healthcare in California.
The California Department of Public Health’s website says 129 complaints or incidents were filed last year against Kingston at 329 Real Road. That’s more than three times the state average for a facility that size. The allegations ranged from patient abuse to inadequate quality of care to safety problems.Reduction in Coronavirus Incidence at Kingstone Healthcare in California.
Complaints against the facility also exceeded the state average within its category in 2017 and 2018, with 55 and 73 complaints, respectively. Records show there have been 32 such complaint filings so far this year.Reduction in Coronavirus Incidence at Kingstone Healthcare in California.
The facility’s compliance problems have prompted the Medicare system to withdraw Kingston’s quality rating and instead attach an online warning that reads, “This facility is not rated due to a history of serious quality issues and is included in the special focus facility program.”Reduction in Coronavirus Incidence at Kingstone Healthcare in California.
REPORTED INFECTIONS
Thirty-five residents at Kingston recently tested positive for the new coronavirus, up 84 percent from Friday’s county-reported total, state records show. Prior reports stated that 35 workers at the 184-bed facility also tested positive, but by Thursday that state-reported tally had dropped to zero.Reduction in Coronavirus Incidence at Kingstone Healthcare in California.
It’s unclear how severe the cases are. State officials and a representative of the Los Angeles based company declined to say whether any of the infected patients has been hospitalized or died.Reduction in Coronavirus Incidence at Kingstone Healthcare in California.
Kingston, without responding to questions but issuing a written statement, said it is working with state and Kern County public health officials to manage the COVID-19 cases and that it is doing “everything possible for the safety and well-being” of its residents and staff.Reduction in Coronavirus Incidence at Kingstone Healthcare in California.
“Residents and family members have all been notified and any questions they may have are being addressed,” Chief Clinical Officer Kristen Morris said by email.Reduction in Coronavirus Incidence at Kingstone Healthcare in California.
“California Department of Public Health is on-site daily at the center and working together with center staff to ensure infection control process are being followed and assisting with some staffing needs,” she continued. “Kingston Healthcare Center has increased (its) housekeeping services and (currently) has the appropriate PPE (personal protective equipment, such as masks) for our staff.”Reduction in Coronavirus Incidence at Kingstone Healthcare in California.
COUNTY RESPONSE
Kern County Public Health Director Matt Constantine said Kingston reached out to the county about 10 days ago for help because the facility’s staffing was not adequate.
Constantine said after the county “scrambled” to assist the facility, county officials contacted the state Department of Public Health for help.Reduction in Coronavirus Incidence at Kingstone Healthcare in California.
The state sent in a medical assistant team made up of 28 staff members to help aid 140 residents at the facility. After Kingston asked for additional help Wednesday, the state provided seven more medical staff members that arrived Wednesday night to support the facility, Constantine said.
“We’re going to continue to monitor it,” Constantine said. “We’re going to ensure that the facility is successful and proper care is given. But this is a state-regulated site and it is Kingston’s obligation and the state’s ability to provide resources that’s important. We’ll continue to monitor.”Reduction in Coronavirus Incidence at Kingstone Healthcare in California. Order this paper