Three Iowa Nursing Homes Fined for Alleged Neglect - Part II
The Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals has fined three Iowa nursing homes after finding residents in their care were being neglected. The facilities affected are: Golden Age Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation, Griffin Nursing Center, and Sunnybrook of Adel.
Griffin Nursing Home
Griffing Nursing Home faces a $10,000 fine for reportedly failing to treat open wounds that a resident had developed. The resident was transported to a hospital only after a staff member found large amounts of bloody fluid draining from an ankle wound that exposed her bone. The female resident's leg had to be amputated due to infection.
Additionally, the facility was fined $500 for failing to provide adequate fluids to multiple residents, $2,000 for failure to prevent resident falls, and $2,000 for failing to address weight loss among some of its residents.
The facility was also cited for using a defective mechanical lift to move residents in and out of bed. Facility employees complained that the lift frequently malfunctioned and left residents in the air for as long as five minutes. An inspector found large cracks in the lift and a manufacturer's representative reportedly called the lift "unsafe". Facility owner Jim Griffin said that "the lift was in "perfect" condition and was still being used." Sadly, many owners focus on the cost of equipment rather than the benefit of the equipment.
Griffin Nursing Home has been given an overall rating by Medicare.gov of 2 stars, which is defined as a "Below Average" nursing home. While the average number of survey deficiencies in Iowa is 7, this facility had 14 deficiencies in 2007, 7 in 2008, and 9 deficiencies in the most recent reporting from June 2009.
