‘Next time I’ll give you a black eye:’ Homes cited for abuse, sexual exploitation
The Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals and Licensing oversees nursing homes in the state of Iowa. (Photo via Getty Images; logo courtesy of the State of Iowa) Several Iowa nursing homes are facing fines of $500 or more as the result of the alleged exploitation or physical abuse of residents.
The incidents include a situation at the Living Center West nursing home in Des Moines, which was cited for failing to prevent the sexual exploitation of a resident.
According to state inspectors, early this year the management of Living Center West had learned of a relationship between its activities director and a male resident of the home who has been diagnosed with dementia.
On Feb. 29, 2024, inspectors’ reports allege, the resident’s guardian had emailed the home’s then-administrator to report that the resident had declared his love for the home’s activities director, who was married, and had explained to the guardian that the two were attempting to “figure out how to go out on dates together.”
The administrator responded to the email the next day, promising to address the matter, according to inspectors’ reports. The inspectors subsequently determined there was no evidence the home investigated the matter or reported the allegation to the state as required.
Months after the email was sent, on May 7, a certified medication aide was looking for the resident when she noticed the door to the activities room was slightly ajar. Inspectors’ reports allege that she looked inside and saw the activities director sitting on the knee of the resident with the two engaged in a long kiss on the mouth.
The aide reported that she gave the resident his medication and then quickly left the room. She told inspectors the activities director later approached her and asked her not to say anything to others. The aide then informed a registered nurse at the home that she’d seen the activities director “making out” with a resident, according to state reports.
According to the aide, the nurse told her not to tell anyone else, according to inspectors’ reports. However, the nurse told facility’s management that she had instructed the aide to report the matter to the home’s director of nursing.
In early June, the activities director gave a written statement in which she acknowledged a relationship with the resident had existed for about six months and was continuing. According to the inspectors’ written reports, the activities director denied any sexual contact or intimate relationship, but during an interview she “admitted to the allegations and walked out of the facility.” She was fired on June 17.
When contacted by state inspectors, the home’s former administrator allegedly said she didn’t recall receiving the Feb. 29 email from the guardian.
According to state inspectors, the resident of the home has been tearful, depressed and withdrawn since the activities director was fired. As a result of the alleged abuse, the state inspections agency has proposed, but held in suspension, fines totaling $28,500.
Other Iowa nursing homes recently cited for abuse include:
— One Vision Cedar House of Fort Dodge, which is an intermediate care facility for people with intellectual disabilities. The home was cited for failing to promptly identify, investigate and report two occurrences of potential physical abuse by one of its employees.
In one incident, two staffers reported seeing a female co-worker punch a male resident in the chest, leaving a bright reddened area on the man’s torso, according to inspectors. The staffers said the worker then grabbed the man’s walker, slammed it on the ground, then yelled and screamed at the man, inspectors reported.
A few nights earlier, inspectors’ reports allege, the same female worker had yelled at another male resident of the home and, with her finger, poked the man in the face, in the area between his eyes and forehead. The home was fined $4,500 for failing to protect residents from abuse and $500 for failing to investigate and report abuse.
— Oakview Nursing and Rehabilitation of Marion, which was fined $500 for failing to ensure residents remained free of physical abuse. According to inspectors, two of the home’s certified nurse aides witnessed a female CNA arguing with a male resident of the home. The female CNA allegedly told the man that his wife didn’t love him and had cheated on him with another individual.
According to inspectors’ reports, the resident, who was known to be combative at times, struck the female aide, after which the aide punched the resident in the shoulder with a closed fist and said, “If you punch me, then I will punch you. Next time I’ll give you a black eye and tell everyone I don’t know how it happened.”
— Ramsey Village of Des Moines, which was fined $500 for resident abuse. Inspectors’ reports allege that a certified nurse aide reported that on Aug. 4, 2024, she was in the room of a married couple, helping a medication aide get the two residents ready for dinner. The husband remarked that he didn’t want to live at the home, the reports state, and the medication aide responded by telling the man his children didn’t care about him and that was why he had to live at Ramsey Village.
According to the inspectors’ report, the CNA who was in the room later reported that the medication aide changed the man’s soiled clothing and, after she was through, removed her soiled gloves and balled them up in her fist and pushed them toward the man’s mouth while telling him to “shut up.” The CNA told inspectors she couldn’t tell whether the medication aide was trying to actually push the gloves into the resident’s mouth, but indicated the man had clamped his mouth shut. The CNA reported the matter the next day.
— The Good Samaritan Home of Holstein. Inspectors reviewed video footage of a July 29, 2024, incident that showed a female resident with dementia sitting at a table in the dining room with her chair pushed close to the table. A CNA stood behind the woman’s chair, scrolling through her cell phone with her knee pushed against the back of the resident’s chair.
Inspectors say the video shows the resident attempted to stand several times, but each time the CNA pushed down on the woman’s shoulders and forced her back into the chair. At one point, the resident swung at the CNA, who then grabbed the resident’s wrists and hands and pinned them down. The two exchanged words and then the CNA placed her hand over the woman’s mouth, inspectors said. Over the next few minutes, the CNA placed a blanket on the resident’s head, pushed her down in the chair several more times, then forced her into a sweater the resident had been trying to remove.
After the woman laid her head on the table and began crying, the CNA aide looked at another employee who was sitting nearby and two appeared to be snickering, inspectors reported. When the woman made another attempt to stand, the CNA pushed the woman’s chair forward, pinning her body against the table.
The resident sat crying as the aide grabbed the woman’s sweater and placed it on her head. After the woman yelled, the CNA pushed her own body firmly against the back of the woman’s chair and again placed her hand over the woman’s mouth, inspectors reported. The other worker then braced her feet against the base of the table, preventing the woman from pushing the table forward in an effort to escape. When the home’s activities director entered the room, the CNA removed her hand from the woman’s mouth, backed away and allowed her to stand, according to inspectors.
At least three employees of the home were suspended due to the incident. The state proposed, but held in suspension, a $500 fine for resident abuse and a $500 fine for failing to report abuse.
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