Blistering Report Gives Iowa an ‘F’ in Nursing Home Care; Local Facility Fined

ManorCare Health Services of West Des Moines is among nine Iowa nursing home is among nine in Iowa facing federal fines after a patient suffered permanent injuries in a drug mixup.

The resident was given nine drugs intended for another resident on May 24, according to an exclusive report by Des Moines Register investigative reporter Clark Kauffman. The case is among those cited in a stinging report from the Florida-based advocacy group Families for Better Care, which cited allegations of medication errors, drug overdoses, sexual abuse and assaults.

The group gave Iowa and nine other states an “F” rating in its state-by-state report card based on eight measures of nursing home care. The nine Iowa nursing homes cited in the report face fines in connection with five deaths and several injuries allegedly resulting from neglect or inadequate care, Kauffman reported.

At the West Des Moines nurisng home, a registered nurse who reportedly administered the nine drugs to the wrong patient immediately realized her mistake and called the attending physician. She was told to administer an antidote to induce vomiting, but the nursing home pharmacy had none on hand. The patient was hospitalized, but immediately was unable to walk without assistance or follow most instructions, often staring open-mouthed at the ceiling, Kauffman wrote, citing the report.

Another resident of the West Des Moines nursing home was briefly hospitalized after receiving five drugs that were intended for another patient and ManorCare was fined $8,000 for violating drug protocols, Kauffman reported.

Toledo-based HCR ManorCare operates more than 500 skilled nursing and rehabilitation centers, assisted living facilities, outpatient rehabilitation clinics, and hospice and home health-care agencies, according to the corporations’ web site.

Another facility operated by ManorCare, this one in Davenport, was fined $29,000 last month on laundry list of alleged violations.

Iowa’s low ranking on the Families for Better Care assessment  – 41st in the nation – was blamed on staffing shortages, the percentage of care facilities with regulatory violations and the percentage of complaints verified by the state’s long-term care ombudsman.

“Iowa represents what’s terribly wrong with nursing home care and oversight in America,” Families for Better Care Executive Director Brian Lee told the Register reporter. “Shockingly low staffing levels contribute to the enormity of nursing home neglect.”

Lee called on Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad to reconsider his veto of legislation that would have increased to 10 from eight the number of long-term care ombudsmen working in Iowa. Such a number follows the recommendations of the Institute of Medicine, which recommends one ombudsman per 2,000 nursing home residents.

Iowa has about 400 nursing homes serving an estimated 25,000 residents, the report said.