Arkansas scabies cases in nursing homes linked to inaction

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(AP) _ Watchdogs say a scabies outbreak at a south Arkansas nursing home spread throughout the facility and into the community after those in charge failed to act.Government documents show that officials at Longmeadow Nursing Care in Camden told nursing staff in some cases not to leave any documentation indicating they were treating residents for scabies. The U.S. Library of Medicine says scabies is a highly contagious skin condition caused by mites.

The documents also show that residents with scabies weren’t isolated and proper procedures were neglected, causing employees to contract the bugs that spread outside the facility.

The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports that the facility must submit a plan of correction. Medicare and Medicaid payments for new residents stopped Thursday. Regulators will revisit the site before it can receive payments again.

Phone calls by the newspaper to Longmeadow and an email to the facility’s owner weren’t returned.

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