AUSTIN, Texas — An Austin nursing home has been fined more than $11,500 over Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) citations related to coronavirus violations.
Records show the West Oaks Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in South Austin was fined $11,567 on Oct. 2 for two separate violations.
According to OSHA records, West Oaks failed to report the death of an employee as a result of a work-related incident, which must be done within eight hours. The nursing home was also fined for failing to keep records of fatalities, injuries and illnesses that are work-related.
OSHA said it has issued $3.5 million in citations nationwide since the start of the pandemic, arising from 263 inspections for violations related to coronavirus.
In October, the KVUE Defenders obtained records from the Texas Health and Human Services Commission showing 565 Texas nursing homes and assisted living facilities violated infection control standards at least 1,435 times between early March and mid-August.
Thirty-eight of those elder care facilities in the 12-county KVUE viewing area account for 82 violations.
West Oaks Nursing and Rehabilitation Center tops the list in Central Texas with eight violations. In April, inspectors noted “the facility failed to establish and maintain an infection control program,” and “the facility did not keep a resident apart from the others if the resident has an infection that can spread.”
The KVUE Defenders reported in the spring how family members were concerned about the safety of their loved ones in West Oaks when confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the facility first surfaced.
Riverside in Austin had three violations. Back in April, inspectors noted, “The facility failed to have an infection control program that allows it to investigate, control and prevent infections,” and, “The facility failed to have and implement written policies for infection control.”
A spokesperson for Regency Integrated Health Services, which runs both Riverside and West Oaks, provided the following statement:
“We are currently reviewing the information found in the database. In March, all of our facilities implemented enhanced infection control protocols that have consistently been updated as new guidelines from federal, state, and local health authorities change. Riverside has not had any reported cases of COVID since early June. West Oaks is currently accepting patients with COVID 19 from the community and hospitals all of whom are cared for on a dedicated unit."
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