Iowa Nursing Home Employees Fail to Protect Defenseless Elderly, Allow Sexual Abuse to Occur At Facility
A Coralville nursing home faces up to $92,400 in state and federal penalties after it attempted to cover up the sexual abuse of an elderly resident.
Windmill Manor nursing home faces stiff fines and its former director of nursing, Karen Etter, faces criminal charges.
The problems stem from a November 2009 incident wherein a male resident was found in bed with a female resident and both were completely undressed. On Christmas Day, the two residents were found having sexual intercourse in the male resident's room. The woman, who suffers from Alzheimer's disease, is and was unable to provide consent.
According to the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals , director of nursing Karen Etter reportedly threatened staff members not to tell anyone about the incident if they wanted to keep their jobs. One worker told inspectors that she was instructed not to report the incident to the head of the dementia unit because the facility could face a fine from state inspectors. That same employee felt that the attitude of her boss was such that she could be fired for reporting.
Iowa law requires caregivers to report all suspected abuse. The Christmas Day incident went unreported to the state, although the male resident's physician ordered medication for him to decrease his sex drive.
Etter is no stranger to problems with the state. In March, the State of Iowa alleged that she threatened seven employees if they reported quality of care concerns.
