Connecticut Nursing Home Fined for Choking Death

The state has fined a Torrington, Conn., nursing home $510 in the death of an elderly patient who choked on a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

Inspectors with the state Department of Public Health determined that staff members at Torrington Health and Rehabilitation Center left the patient unattended when the resident ate the sandwich and choked in February, despite requirements that the patient be carefully monitored.

The Hartford Courant and a non-profit group of reporters, the Connecticut Health Investigative Team, obtained health department records on the case Monday.

The Public Health Department, which could have fined the nursing home up to $3,000, also ordered the facility to submit a plan of corrective action.

An administrator at the nursing home didn’t respond to a request for comment.