Nursing home where ceiling collapsed has troubling history of violations

WASHINGTON CO., Pa. — A search of Pennsylvania health department inspection reports on “The Grove at Washington” -- which has been a hotspot for COVID-19 cases -- turned up a long list of violations.

Channel 11’s Angie Moreschi found more than 12 inspection reports for patient care in just the last year – and five for building safety over the past two years.

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A close look at building safety records show a history of concern as recently as January 2020.

The ceiling collapse that just happened Monday night isn’t the first time The Grove has had ceiling issues. In an inspection report from January, it shows there was an observation that revealed a damaged ceiling-mounted heater in the fire pump room.

It was missing a protective cover and contained “unprotected wiring and connections."

A review of patient care inspection reports also showed multiple issues – ranging from violations of infection prevention and control, food safety requirements, and missing tiles on the floor (creating a tripping hazard).

Officials with The Grove issued the following statement regarding the ceiling collapse and recent inspections:

“Due to recent heavy rain a portion of ceiling material in one resident room buckled and gave way. There were no substantial injuries. A maintenance engineer found no evidence of larger or related issues. We expect to be fully repaired and serviceable in the next two weeks. The room is out of service until completely repaired.”

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