Two O.C. Nursing Homes Cited For Patient Deaths

Two Orange County nursing homes - including one in Newport Beach - have been fined for inadequate health care that led to a death at each facility and have received the most severe citations under the law, state officials announced Monday.

was fined $100,000 and Yorba Linda-based Emeritus was fined $90,000, the California Department of Public Health reported. According to a state investigation, a female patient was admitted to the Newport Beach rehabilitation facility in August after she fell and broke her hip. In September the patient was left unattended on the toilet by a nursing assistant and was later found face down and unresponsive in the bathroom by the maintenance director, according to the CDPH. A coroner's report stated the patient's cause of death was a cervical spine fracture due to a fall.

In its plan of corrective action submitted to the state, Newport Nursing said it will provide additional staff training and provide nursing assistants with more patient information including their level and need for assistance.

A CDPH investigation determined that an Emeritus patient choked and later died as a result of not being served finely chopped meat as prescribed by her doctor. According to the report, a nursing assistant failed to give the patient her dentures when her lunch was served and she was later found blue, with a partially eaten sandwich in front of her. At the hospital a large piece of ham was removed from the patient's airway. She died six days later from cardiac and respiratory arrest due to choking.

In its corrective action plan, Emeritus said nursing assistants will verify each patient is being served proper meals as prescribed in their individual care plan.