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Indiana Nursing Home Fined After Resident Burns to Death

June 29, 2005
Shortly after a resident at an Indiana nursing home caught fire, state inspectors descended on the facility and cited it for multiple violations of state code. State officials say the Regency Place nursing home of Dyer, Indiana, faces a fine in connection with the alleged violations.

Rodney Kenney, 72, died at a Chicago hospital where he was treated for burns. Inspectors say the Alzheimer’s patient was severely burned May 26 when his clothing caught fire as he sat in a wheel chair. Authorities say they found a cigarette lighter near Kenney, but that he was not a smoker. In fact, state law prohibits smoking in nursing homes and patients are not allowed to possess smoking materials.

In their report, inspectors concluded that the staff at Regency Place failed to properly supervise Kenney. In addition, they said they found numerous other problems:

• A nursing home staff member designated as a medication aide mixed up two residents’ medications one day, leaving one woman sick and dizzy for two days;
• Regency Place didn’t adequately screen two new employees;
• the nursing home wasn’t adequately staffed.

In fact, the report said that when inspectors arrived the morning of May 28, they were told “there was no one in charge.” Inspectors also said residents asking for help from staff members were ignored.

A state health department spokeswoman said Regency Place faces possible denial of Medicare and Medicaid payment for new admissions after Aug. 19, along with a fine.

A spokesman for the nursing home said the company has filed a plan of correction with the state is “confident we will resolve these matters to the state’s satisfaction in the near future.”

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