At least 5 Iowa health care facilities fined for alleged sexual exploitation or physical abuse of residents « KJAN

(Des Moines, Iowa) – Several Iowa nursing homes are facing fines of $500 or more due to alleged exploitation or physical abuse of residents. Iowa Capital Dispatch reports that the incidents include a situation at the Living Center West nursing home in Des Moines, which was fined for failing to prevent the sexual exploitation of a resident.

According to state inspectors, management at Living Center West learned early this year that the activities director was having an affair with a male resident of the home who had been diagnosed with dementia. On Feb. 29, 2024, the inspectors’ reports allege, the resident’s guardian 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 explained to the guardian that the two were trying to “figure out how to go on dates together.”

The manager responded to the email the next day and promised to address the issue, according to the inspectors’ reports. The inspectors subsequently determined that there was no evidence that the home had investigated the issue or reported the allegation to the state as required. Months after the email was sent, on May 7, a certified medication aide was searching for the resident when she noticed the door to the activity room was ajar. The inspectors’ reports allege that she looked inside and saw the activities director sitting on the resident’s knee as the two engaged in a long kiss on the lips.

The aide reported that she gave the resident his medication and then quickly left the room. She told inspectors that the activities director later approached her and asked her not to say anything to anyone. The aide then told a registered nurse at the home that she had 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 the inspectors’ reports. However, the nurse told the facility’s management that she had instructed the aide to report the matter to the home’s nursing director. In early June, the activities director provided a written statement acknowledging that a relationship had existed with the resident for approximately six months and was ongoing. 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 manager reportedly said she didn’t remember receiving the guardian’s Feb. 29 email. According to state inspectors, the home’s resident has been tearful, depressed and withdrawn since the activities director was fired. As a result of the alleged abuse, the state inspection agency proposed, but stayed, fines totaling $28,500.

Other Iowa nursing homes recently charged with abuse include:

— One Vision Cedar House of Fort Dodgean intermediate care facility for people with intellectual disabilities. The home was fined for failing to promptly identify, investigate and report two cases of possible physical abuse by one of its employees.

— Oakview Nursing and Rehabilitation by Marionwho was fined $500 for failing to ensure residents were not abused. According to inspectors’ reports, a resident, who was sometimes aggressive, punched a female nursing aide, after which the aide struck the resident on the shoulder with a clenched fist and allegedly said, “If you hit me, I’ll hit you. Next time I’ll give you a black eye and tell everyone I don’t know how it happened.”

— Ramsey Village of Des Moineswas fined $500 for assaulting residents.

— At the Good Samaritan Home of Holstein, At least three employees were suspended over an incident involving alleged abuse of an elderly female dementia patient. The state proposed, but suspended, a $500 fine for abusing residents, and a $500 fine for failing to report abuse.