Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
ST. GEORGE — The state has put a St. George assisted living facility on conditional license status after the recent death of a resident who became trapped in the facility's kitchen freezer and later died, according to a report from the Utah Department of Health and Human Services.
The Jan. 25 report notes that the Meadows at Escalante, 950 S. 400 East, was "out of compliance" with several Utah regulations, including that an administrator remains on the premises "enough hours in the business day," reviews "at least quarterly every injury, accident and incident to a resident or employee and document appropriate corrective action," logs any "significant change" in a resident's condition and completes "an investigation when there was reason to believe a resident had been subjected to abuse, neglect, or exploitation."
"During the inspection, it was discovered that a resident accessed the kitchen through unlocked doors, became trapped in the facility's commercial kitchen freezer and later expired," the report states.
St. George police said they learned of the incident on Jan. 21 and requested the state medical examiner's report. Criminal charges have not been filed in connection with the death.
Family members identified the woman who died as 75-year-old Rickie Rubick, St. George News reported.
The resident's death was classified as a "death due to noncompliance" with regulations in the inspection report. The facility was issued a citation and ordered to pay a $10,500 penalty.
In a statement to KSL, a spokesman for the company that owns the facility, Integral Senior Living LLC, said: "We are saddened to learn of the passing of one of our residents and our hearts go out to the family with our deepest sympathies. Our on-site and regional team members are saddened by this loss. We politely ask that you respect the privacy and confidentiality of our resident and her family. Please know, our entire team remains 100% dedicated to the service and care of our community members. Thank you."
The company declined to answer questions about the incident.
The conditional license status remains in effect until June 30 and means the provider "is at risk of losing (its) license" due to noncompliance with regulations, until state inspectors find the facility to be in compliance.
A letter from leaders of the Utah Department of Health and Human Services described several alleged safety issues. The letter said the facility had cleaning agents, bleaches and flammable materials with warning labels not properly stored; fire doors, emergency lighting, and electrical panels (were) out of compliance; and there was a lack of emergency equipment on site.
The Office of Licensing's investigation also found that the provider did not ensure qualified care workers "were on the premises 24 hours a day to meet resident needs"; did not hold regular quality assurance committee meetings as required by the state; and did not maintain incident and injury reports involving fights or physical confrontations among residents, according to the report.
In one resident's progress notes, the office found 10 notes involving "injuries, fights or physical confrontations, situations that required the use of passive physical restraints ... and other situations or circumstances affecting the health, safety, and well-being of the resident and other residents" that the inspectors found "were not documented on an incident report."
The report also states that the facility did not ensure that staff members who were administering medications did so under a licensed medical professional "under the scope of their practice." The Meadows at Escalante also didn't have a current contract with a registered nurse "to provide or supervise nursing services to include: nursing assessment on each resident; general health monitoring of each resident; routine nursing tasks, including those that may be delegated to unlicensed assistive personnel," inspectors said.
Contributing: Garna Mejia
