Iowa Nursing Home Faces Investigation Into Latest Death
We discussed Glenwood Resource Center and its high death rate in our July 14, 2008 blog. At that time, Glenwood had repeatedly failed to improve medical care for its residents and was being investigated for an "unusually high number of deaths among its residents". The facility had been under a federal court order for the last four years to improve resident care and the home had made little or no progress to improve the medical care it provided to its residents. The Department of Justice has accused the State of Iowa of repeatedly failing to act on "significant concerns" raised by inspectors concerning medical care oversight at Glenwood. Inspectors have faulted the home for its inadequate investigations into resident deaths.
On March 9, 2008, a Glenwood resident died due to inadequate nursing care. Eleven days later, a 52 year old male resident died unexpectedly; the man had lived at the home for just eleven hours. He had been transferred to Glenwood from another county run home. During his autopsy, a disposable latex glove, 40 inches of cord, a tangled ball of string, and a tag from a bed sheet at the previous group home were all removed from his colon. In September 2008, Glenwood was fined $5,500 for alleged medication errors, among other problems.
Now, officials are investigating another death at Glenwood. A fifty-five year old female resident, who had resided at the facility for forty years, died. No details of her death are being released at this time. Since March 2008, nine residents of the home have died - three of which have occurred in six weeks.
