Iowa Nursing Home Fined For Ignoring Reports Of Abuse

In Guthrie Center, Iowa, a nursing home has been fined $7,000 by an administrative judge, according to DesMoinesRegister.com. The fine was reportedly due to ignoring complaints by elderly residents regarding sexual abuse.

Employees of the New Home Care Center informed managers and supervisors of the complaints, and said reports were allegedly not investigated. There were 8 reported acts of sex abuse, all involving different elderly persons.

In one very alarming report, the abusing employee had blocked the door with a chair, and another employee forced their way into the room and viewed a mentally disabled resident partially undressed and bleeding from her vaginal area. The nursing home employee has not yet been criminally charged.

In 2006, state inspectors cited the nursing home for their failure to investigate this case, and Medicare and Medicaid Services later fined the home $7,000. The home had the hustpa to appeal the fine. A judge recently upheld the penalty.

In 2008, the nursing facility was fined again for insufficient supervision of residents. New Homestead Care Center is a nonprofit corporation run by a volunteer board of directors.

The alleged conduct of the nursing home in this case is reckless. The fact that the facility’s own employees were reporting the sexual abuse allegations, and the supervisors and managers ignored the issue, is offensive. It is a good guess that the residents of this home will retain a nursing home abuse lawyer. In addition to a claim for abuse, the attorney will also likely explore punitive damages against the home for its willful and wanton conduct of ignoring the reports.

If your loved one has been abused and/or neglected in a Chicago area nursing home, or any nursing facility in the State of Illinois, call Abels & Annes for a free consultation.