The California Department of Public Health has faulted the Ararat Nursing Facility in Mission Hills, Calif., for two resident deaths.
Investigators determined that violations at the facility "were a substantial factor" in both deaths and issued AA citations to the facility, according to an Aug. 22 report from the Los Angeles Times.
The department's findings allege one woman died from injuries sustained during a fall after a nursing assistant left the woman unattended in a lifting device used to weigh residents.
The other death occurred when a woman with a known choking risk was being fed by a family member without supervision and the woman stopped breathing. If a resident has a known choking risk, a nursing assistant is required to stay with the resident when family members are assisting with meals, the department's report said.
The facility was fined a total of $240,000 for both incidents, which occurred in March and June.
Ararat Nursing Facility is in the process of appealing the citations in court, according to the Times.