OSHA cites Woonsocket nursing home for violations related to COVID-19

WOONSOCKET – The Oakland Grove Health Care Center was issued a citation by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration alleging two “coronavirus violations,” according to a Friday news release.

According to the report, OSHA cited two standards that were violated at the Woonsocket nursing home with an “open date” of Aug. 13 and a “close conference” date of Oct. 30, but it is unclear when the incidents occurred.

OSHA’s report said the inspection type was “fatality/catastrophe.”

Tim Brown, a spokesman for Oakland’s parent company, Athena Health Care Systems, sent PBN a statement Friday addressing the allegations, and said that Athena disagreed with OSHA’s findings against Oakland Grove and that the matter is currently being appealed.

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“There is no greater priority for us than the health and safety of our patients and staff,” read Brown’s statement. “COVID-19 is an insidious virus that has taken a tremendous toll on the vast majority of long-term care facilities in Rhode Island and beyond. Our hearts go out to all affected by this insidious virus.”

While the announcement did not specifically list the alleged violations, it noted the first standard dealt with how quickly an injury or illness was recorded, and that the facility was penalized $1,928.

“You must enter each recordable injury or illness on the OSHA 300 Log and 301 Incident Report within seven calendar days of receiving information that a recordable injury or illness has occurred,” read OSHA’s cited standard.

The second violation, which did not again specifically identify any incident that occurred at Oakland, cited an OSHA standard that said facilities must report a fatality to OSHA within eight hours after the death of any employee as a result of a work-related injury. This penalty resulted in a $9,639 fine.

Brown refused to confirm if a staff member died in a work-related injury at Oakland.

Athena Health Care Systems, which is based in Connecticut, was fined a total of $11,567 for the Woonsocket facility, according to OSHA’s inspection details on the U.S. Department of Labor’s website.

Alexa Gagosz is a PBN staff writer. Contact her at Gagosz@PBN.com. You may also follow her on Twitter at @AlexaGagosz.