River City Care Center in San Antonio, the region's designated COVID-19 isolation facility since April, is facing a state-issued fine of at least $120,000 after an investigation from earlier this summer concluded unsafe conditions put its 50 residents at risk, reports KSAT.
In July, temperatures inside residents' rooms reached over 80 degrees after the facility's HVAC system failed, records shared with KSAT from the Texas Health and Human Services Commission showed. The facility installed a new system shortly after, but the intermittent heat caused heat-induced convulsions in a resident who later died at a hospital.
HHSC records showed the facility is facing a lawsuit filed this month on behalf of Richard Isenhour, a former resident who spent about two weeks at the facility in June after testing positive for COVID-19 at a separate care center. The suit claims River City delayed an X-ray order that later showed Mr. Isenhour was suffering from pneumonia or a collapsed lung. He was taken to a hospital July 7 and later died in hospice.
The facility doesn't plan on appealing the fine or disputing the violations, and has voluntarily reduced the number of residents it cares for, reports KSAT.
"Issues identified by inspectors were rectified immediately and we are confident in the professionalism and level of care our staff is providing to residents and patients," River City's parent company said in a statement to KSAT.
Editor's note: Becker's has reached out to River City Care Center for comment and will update the report as more information becomes available.
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