‘Next Time I’ll Give You a Black Eye’: Houses Sued for Abuse, Sexual Exploitation • Iowa Capital Dispatch

Several Iowa nursing homes are facing fines of $500 or more for alleged exploitation or physical abuse of residents.

One of the incidents is at the Living Center West nursing home in Des Moines, where a fine was imposed for failing to prevent the sexual exploitation of a resident.

According to state inspectors, management at Living Center West learned early this year that an affair existed between the activities director and a male resident of the home who had been diagnosed with dementia.

On February 29, 2024, inspectors alleged in their reports that the resident’s guardian had emailed the home’s then-manager to report that the resident had declared his love for the home’s activities coordinator, who was married, and had 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. Inspector reports allege she looked inside and saw the activity 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 director of nursing.

In early June, the activities director issued a written statement acknowledging that a relationship with the resident had been ongoing for approximately six months. According to the inspectors’ written reports, the activities director denied sexual contact or an intimate relationship, but during an interview, “she admitted to the allegations and walked out of the facility.” She was discharged on June 17.

When contacted by state inspectors, the home’s former manager said she did not recall receiving the Feb. 29 email from the guardian.

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 fines totaling $28,500, but they were stayed.

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.

In one incident, two employees reported seeing a female coworker punch a male resident in the chest, leaving a bright red mark on the man’s torso, inspectors said. The employees said the worker then grabbed the man’s walker, threw it to the ground and then yelled and screamed at the man, inspectors said.

A few nights earlier, the inspectors’ reports allege, the same female worker had yelled at another male resident of the home and jabbed the man in the face with her finger, 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 by Marionwho was fined $500 for failing to prevent residents from being physically abused. According to inspectors, two of the home’s certified nursing assistants saw a female nurse arguing with a male resident of the home. The female nurse allegedly told the man that his wife didn’t love him and had cheated on him with another person.

According to the inspectors’ reports, the resident, who was sometimes aggressive, hit the female assistant, after which the assistant hit the resident on the shoulder with a clenched fist and 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 Moineswho was fined $500 for assaulting residents. Inspector reports allege that a certified nursing assistant reported that on Aug. 4, 2024, she was in a married couple’s room, helping a medication aide get the two residents ready for dinner. The husband commented that he did not want to live in the home, the reports say, and the medication aide responded by telling the man that his children did not care about him and that he should therefore live in Ramsey Village.

According to the inspectors’ report, the CNA who was in the room later reported that the medication assistant changed the man’s soiled clothing and, after she was done, removed her soiled gloves, balled them in her fist, and pushed them toward the man’s mouth while telling him to “shut up.” The CNA told inspectors that she could not see whether the medication assistant actually tried to force the gloves into the resident’s mouth, but indicated that the man clamped his mouth shut. The CNA reported the matter the next day.

— The Good Samaritan Home of Holstein. Inspectors reviewed video footage of an incident on July 29, 2024, that showed a female resident with dementia sitting at a dining room table with her chair pushed up against the table. A nurse stood behind the woman’s chair, scrolling through her cell phone with her knee pressed against the back of the resident’s chair.

Inspectors said the video shows the resident tried to stand up several times, but each time the CNA pushed down on the woman’s shoulders, forcing her back into the chair. At one point, the resident struck out at the CNA, who then grabbed the resident’s wrists and hands and pinned her down. The two exchanged words, and then the CNA put her hand over the woman’s mouth, inspectors said. Over the next few minutes, the CNA put a blanket over the resident’s head, pushed her back into the chair several more times, and then forced her into a sweater that the resident was trying to remove.

After the woman put her head on the table and began to cry, the CNA assistant looked at another employee sitting nearby and the 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 was crying as the aide grabbed the woman’s sweater and placed it on her head. After the woman screamed, the CNA pushed her own body firmly against the back of the woman’s chair and placed her hand over the woman’s mouth again, inspectors said. The other worker then placed her feet against the base of the table, preventing the woman from pushing the table forward in an attempt to escape. When the home’s activities director entered the room, the CNA removed her hand from the woman’s mouth, stepped back and left her standing, inspectors said.

At least three employees of the home were suspended over the incident. The state proposed a $500 fine for assaulting residents, but kept it suspended, and a $500 fine for failing to report assault.