By Jon King / jking@whmi.com


A Livingston County nursing home has been cited by state inspectors following an outbreak of COVID-19.

An emergency inspection at MediLodge of Howell was undertaken in December following multiple complaints that came amid a coronavirus outbreak that impacted dozens of residents and staff members. A report from that inspection was issued on January 28th by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which cited the facility with multiple violations including improper infection control measures and inadequate staffing.

The report noted that proper CDC virus transmission procedures were not followed for one of the facility’s residents after their roommate was diagnosed with COVID-19. Within days, both that patient and 14 other residents had also tested positive. Inspectors noted that residents had been placed in “immediate jeopardy” by a “deficient practice (that) caused the spread of COVID-19, the need to transfer residents to acute care settings, and the likelihood for serious harm, injury, and or death.” Also cited in the report were various staffing issues that contributed to the outbreak, including a nursing assistant who worked in both a COVID isolation ward and a non-COVID unit as well as a maintenance worker who also entered in and out of those wards.

Inspectors said the short-staffing issue resulted in “staff not being able to provide all aspects of care” which in turn had the potential to affect all 175 residents of the facility. A former MediLodge of Howell nurse told inspectors they had quit working at the facility in fear that that their license would be at risk because of the inability to provide proper care. Other violations cited in the report include proper food safety and fall prevention measures.

A request for comment on the report has yet to be returned by Bill Gray, the media director for MediLodge. However, Matthew Erickson, the Public Information Officer for the Michigan Dept. of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, told WHMI that the facility must submit a plan of correction for any deficiencies noted on the report and that if that plan of correction is accepted, it will become publicly available.

As of Sunday, the facility reports there are 36 COVID-19 cases among residents and staff with a total of 81 total cases overall.

A copy of the report is available below.