Are Iowa Care Centers Skirting the Law? UPDATE
We discussed two Iowa care facilities that were opting to relinquish their licenses and avoid state regulation in our previous blog.
Now, the Dubuque Retirement Community is defending its decision to give up its license. The facility will relinquish its license on September 14, 2009 and will become an unregulated facility not subject to annual inspections, state oversight, or sanctions for inadequate care. The facility is owned by Assisted Living Concepts, which operates six other assisted living centers in Iowa: Amelia House, Eiler House, Reed House, Swan House, Floyd House, and Allen House. According to Laurie Bebo, Assisted Living Concepts' CEO, the company considers its decision to give up its license to be a pilot program that will be evaluated over the next several months and "we need to see what the repercussions are".
Further, Bebo says the license forfeiture "doesn't have anything to do with the fines", which was met with laughter and groans from its residents during a recent meeting.
According to David Werning, the spokesperson for the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals, the agency is concerned about the facility's recent move and the repercussions it may have on its residents. Currently, the law prevents assisted living facilities from caring for people from caring for individuals needing multiple workers to assist with transfers. Once the facility gives up its license, the agency is worried that "we'll get a complaint that what they're actually running is an unlicensed nursing home. That's a real serious issue that we're trying to address with them now." Additionally, the agency is also concerned that Swan Home Health, which is a care provider owned and operated by Assisted Living Concepts, is nothing more than a dummy corporation. According to Werning, "It's a legal question as to whethere they've set up a fictitious corporation, Swan Home Health, to provide assisted living services just so they don't have to maintain an assisted living license."
The Dubuque Retirement Community is also in the eye of the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals for failure to comply with a March 12, 2009 order banning the admission of new residents while the facility's license is on conditional status due to past care problems. Despite the order, the facility has continued to admit new residents and according to CEO Bebo, she was unaware that the state would have a problem with that.
