Amid allegations of abuse, state bans Aventura ALF from accepting new residents

senior citizens

State health care regulators have taken emergency steps to prevent an Aventura assisted living facility (ALF) from accepting any new residents after discovering alleged instances of abuse that went unreported.

Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) Deputy Secretary Kimberly Smoak said the moratorium on new admissions was the least restrictive action the state could take against the 150-bed facility.

The ALF does business as Plaza at Parksquare, but is officially known as Royal Integra Parksquare Lessee, LLC. Royal Senior Care, II, LLC is the controlling interest in the facility.

“The agency stands ready to take greater action, including an Emergency Suspension Order, if the Respondent does not promptly come into compliance with the regulations governing Assisted Living Facilities,” Smoak wrote in a July 6 emergency order.

The ALF can challenge the state’s moratorium on new admissions. Immediate attempts to speak with the facility’s administrator Thursday were unsuccessful.

The emergency order stems from a June 23 inspection of the facility and findings of potential abuse and neglect of three residents between March 20 and June 29.

The emergency order alleges that in April, a staff member “grabbed” and “dragged” to the shower a resident with dementia who refused to bathe. The resident’s knees were scraped and required bandaging, according to the emergency order.

The incident wasn’t documented in the resident’s records, and it wasn’t reported to the Department of Children and Families as required by law. Moreover, the incident wasn’t reported to the agency as a potential adverse incident, the emergency order notes.

During a June 29 follow-up visit, regulators saw the resident was tied into a wheelchair with a belt, crying. Staff “candidly admitted that she had belted the resident in the chair as a result of the resident wandering and incontinence,” according to the emergency order.

But according to the agency, there was no documentation in the resident’s record that authorized the use of restraints.

AHCA regulators had pictures of a second ALF resident showing the resident had a black eye in February and a bruised shoulder in May. The February picture was taken by a family member who said the facility never contacted them about an incident that could cause the injury. The second picture was allegedly taken by a staff member.

According to the emergency order, the resident fell from a wheelchair on both March 20 and May 4. While the facility’s records show the director of nursing placed an ice bag on the resident’s head, the incident wasn’t reported to the state.

AHCA also alleges in the emergency order that the ALF administrator erroneously performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation on a resident who had a do not resuscitate order.

In addition to potential instances of unreported abuse, the emergency order raps the facility for not having enough staff, noting that on June 23 “four staff members were observed in the facility” to care for more than 110 residents.

“In the Memory Care Unit with 18 residents, a single staff member was assigned to meet the needs of 18 residents,” the emergency order notes.

Additionally, the emergency order alleges that between June 1 and June 24, there were 258 resident calls for assistance that went unanswered for 30 minutes.