State fines Woodward care center for violations
Posted: Sunday, November 30, 2008
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) -- A state-run facility for the disabled has been fined thousands of dollars for serious health and safety violations after three of its most recent inspections.
The state-run Woodward home for the disabled has been fined $12,500 in the past nine weeks for serious health and safety violations during each of its three most recent inspections. That compares to just $7,500 in fines during the previous eight years.
The director of the Iowa Department of Human Services, Gene Gessow, says hasn't had a chance to evaluate the findings of the state inspectors that led to the fines.
The Woodward Resource Center is a sister facility of the Glenwood Resource Center, which is located in southwest Iowa. Both facilities serve as homes for profoundly disabled Iowans.
Both facilities since 2004 have been operating under a court order to improve their care. That has included inspectors from the U.S. Department of Justice monitoring the homes' progress.
Glenwood houses 315 men, women and children. It is now the focus of three separate investigations pertaining to 11 resident deaths this year. The facility has been fined $37,000 in the past eight months.
Woodward, which is home to 220 residents, has earned high marks from the Department of Justice for making significant improvements in its resident care.
Inspections in the last nine weeks have generated four separate fines for a series of alleged problems with resident care, however. They include:
-- A Sept. 24, fine of $2,500 for a June incident in which a resident of the home was mistakenly given five different drugs intended for someone else.
-- A $5,000 fine was given on Sept. 28 after a Woodward resident broke out a window and ran away. The resident was missing for three hours.
-- In October, the home was fined $2,000 for the repeated, improper use of heating pads for physical therapy.
-- This week, the home was fined $3,000 after a resident wandered away and was later found eating packets of nondairy creamer.
The state-run Woodward home for the disabled has been fined $12,500 in the past nine weeks for serious health and safety violations during each of its three most recent inspections. That compares to just $7,500 in fines during the previous eight years.
The director of the Iowa Department of Human Services, Gene Gessow, says hasn't had a chance to evaluate the findings of the state inspectors that led to the fines.
The Woodward Resource Center is a sister facility of the Glenwood Resource Center, which is located in southwest Iowa. Both facilities serve as homes for profoundly disabled Iowans.
Both facilities since 2004 have been operating under a court order to improve their care. That has included inspectors from the U.S. Department of Justice monitoring the homes' progress.
Glenwood houses 315 men, women and children. It is now the focus of three separate investigations pertaining to 11 resident deaths this year. The facility has been fined $37,000 in the past eight months.
Woodward, which is home to 220 residents, has earned high marks from the Department of Justice for making significant improvements in its resident care.
Inspections in the last nine weeks have generated four separate fines for a series of alleged problems with resident care, however. They include:
-- A Sept. 24, fine of $2,500 for a June incident in which a resident of the home was mistakenly given five different drugs intended for someone else.
-- A $5,000 fine was given on Sept. 28 after a Woodward resident broke out a window and ran away. The resident was missing for three hours.
-- In October, the home was fined $2,000 for the repeated, improper use of heating pads for physical therapy.
-- This week, the home was fined $3,000 after a resident wandered away and was later found eating packets of nondairy creamer.
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