Sagepoint senior living facility fined $10K a day for failing to address COVID-19 adequately
LA PLATA, Md. (FOX 5 DC) - A senior living facility that accounted for the vast majority of cases among residents in care centers in Charles County has been ordered to pay $10,000 per day for “widespread deficiencies” in their response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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According to the Maryland Department of Health, a survey conducted by the Office of Health Care Quality determined that Sagepoint Nursing and Rehabilitation failed to address conditions that “posed immediate and serious jeopardy to the health and safety of its residents.”
The fine is the first civil penalty issued against a nursing home since the pandemic began. According to state data, Sagepoint has had 34 COVID deaths among patients. One employee has also died.
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The department says Sagepoint’s deficiencies include:
- Failure to obtain critical lab results timely
- Failure to use appropriate hand hygiene
- Failure to appropriately use personal protective equipment (PPE)
- Failure to cohort residents with suspected or known COVID-19
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The facility has been fined $10,000 per day for each day since March 30.
They released a statement late Thursday afternoon: