State health officials are investigating the recent death of an unidentified nursing home patient, apparently as a result of a feeding tube mistake.

The victim was a patient in the 200-bed Villa St. Michael Nursing Home at 4800 Seton Drive in Northwest Baltimore.

Carol Benner, director of the state Office of Health Care Quality, said yesterday her agency was investigating the incident. She said the nursing home had voluntarily reported the death to her agency and to the state medical examiner.

Benner would not identify the victim but confirmed that initial reports indicate the patient died as a result of a feeding tube that was improperly adjusted and was feeding the patient at too fast a rate.

Officials in the medical examiner's office were unable to provide any details on the case.

Phyliss Kelley, administrator at the nursing home, declined to comment on the death because of privacy concerns for the victim and the victim's family. Philip Miller of Potomac, whose family owns the facility, said he was not aware of the incident. He said the day-to-day operations of the home were handled by a management firm.

State health reports show that Villa St. Michael was cited for 27 deficiencies during an inspection in late May. That figure is more than four times the average for nursing homes in Maryland.

One of the deficiencies noted was failure to keep medication errors to less than 5 percent.

State inspectors also faulted the nursing home for its use of patient restraints, for inadequate screening of employees for a history of abusing or neglecting patients and for failure to protect patients from mistreatment or neglect.

Another citation charged the home with failing to inform relatives or the patient's physician of a major change in the patient's condition.

Data provided by state health officials show that the amount of staff time provided to patients at Villa St. Michael is well below the state average. According to state and federal data, the home provides 3.02 hours of nursing care per patient each day, compared with the state average of 3.9 hours.

While staffing at the facility is below the state average, the patients at Villa St. Michael generally have more health problems than their counterparts at other facilities. For instance, 77 percent require assisting in feeding, according to state data.

The Miller family also owns a nursing home in Philadelphia, the Bala Nursing and Retirement Center, which was cited two years ago for multiple violations of federal regulations. Inspectors said that conditions there placed patients in "immediate jeopardy."

Sun staff writer Erika Niedowski contributed to this article.