Opinion ID: 1722720
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Propriety of Suspending Admissions

Text: The Court of Appeals held that the Commissioner erred in suspending admissions to Clay County Manor. The Court reasoned that [t]he only existing condition shown by this record is the unwillingness of [Clay County Manor] to submit to an unlimited inspection on the dates in question. There is no showing of any particular probability of detriment to any patient from said unwillingness to submit, however contrary to the duty of the facility and the rights of the inspectors. Absent such showing of specific danger to patients resulting from the refusal, suspension of admissions was not available as a device to compel submission to inspection. We disagree with the intermediate court's conclusion that suspending admissions was an improper sanction. T.C.A. § 68-11-207(b)(1) provides that [i]n those cases where the conditions of any nursing home or home for the aged are, or are likely to be, detrimental to the health, safety or welfare of the patient or resident, the commissioner has the authority to suspend the admission of any new patients... . The Commissioner (and Board) based the decision to suspend admissions on several deficiencies in patient care, plus the facility's interference with the inspections on July 26 and 27, 1989. Witnesses testified to the residents' poor personal hygiene, residents with clogged catheters, residents with strong body odor, inadequate infection control, substandard treatment of sores, residents left nude in extremely hot rooms, residents whose bodies were smeared with dried fecal material, and inadequate medical assistance. Both the original suspension ordered by the Commissioner, and the order of the Board upholding the suspension of admissions, found that the conditions were, or were likely to be, detrimental to the patients or residents. We have no hesitancy in concluding that the record contains substantial and material evidence sufficient to support the state's determination that deficient conditions at Clay County Manor warranted the suspension of new admissions. The deficiencies were in addition to the interference with the attempts by Dr. Alsup and her team of inspectors to conduct meaningful and effective inspections. We hold that a suspension of admissions to a nursing home pursuant to T.C.A. § 68-11-207(b) is justified where detrimental conditions and inadequate patient care have been discovered through prior inspections and through complaints received, and the facility refuses to allow the state to conduct an inspection under the circumstances presented here. In view of the foregoing reasons, the judgment of the Court of Appeals is reversed and that of the trial court reinstated. Costs are adjudged against Clay County Manor. REID, C.J., and O'BRIEN, DAUGHTREY and ANDERSON, JJ., concur.