Iowa nursing home cited for insufficient staffing after resident’s death

Bishop Drumm Retirement Center in Johnston. (Photo via Google Earth)

One resident of a Johnston nursing home died and another was hospitalized recently amid allegations by employees that the home has insufficient staff to meet residents’ needs.

State inspectors visited Johnston’s Bishop Drumm Retirement Center in June and on Tuesday issued a report of their findings, citing the home for insufficient nursing staff and failure to treat residents’ bed sores.

According to the inspectors’ report, one resident with a significant bed sore and blisters on her back was found unresponsive in her bed on May 8 and was rushed to a local hospital where she died the next day.

On June 14, a male resident with untreated sores was admitted to a hospital in septic shock, which can be a life-threatening condition, and respiratory failure. Prior to the man’s hospitalization, the entire heel of one foot was covered by a wound that included a blister filled with black liquid and dead tissue, inspectors reported.

A licensed practical nurse who works for Bishop Drumm allegedly told inspectors the home had “only one nurse with three certified nurse assistants” working in the home’s skilled-nursing unit where many residents need regular treatments and assistance with eating and ambulating.

The staff wasn’t getting residents out of bed “because they don’t have time and they don’t have enough help,” the nurse allegedly reported, and so residents at risk of bed sores weren’t being repositioned. “She confirmed she had noticed residents with a lot of skin issues,” the inspectors reported

A registered nurse who works for Bishop Drumm allegedly voiced similar concerns, telling inspectors that one nurse on duty for 30 residents was “a lot,” and that the staff was unable to get residents out of bed or provide the assistance they needed.

Another registered nurse who works at Bishop Drumm allegedly reported that residents were developing sores due to the staff not having time to reposition them or change their clothing or bedding. She reportedly told inspectors the home at times had only two nurses — or one nurse plus a medication aide — to care for 60 residents.

While at the facility, state inspectors asked the home’s administrator what steps Bishop Drumm had taken to address repeated violations from past inspections, which included a February 2024 citation for failure to prevent bed sores, and citations for insufficient staff in June 2023 and October 2023.

According to the inspectors, the administrator reported that he had been in the job only four months and couldn’t speak to the actions taken by previous administrators.

As a result of the most recent inspection at Bishop Drumm, the state has proposed a $10,000 fine for failing to provide residents with the required nursing services. Due to that being a repeat violation, the proposed fine has been tripled to $30,000. However, the penalty has also been held in suspension by the state, which means the state fine will not have to be paid, although the federal government may eventually impose fines for the same set of violations.

Staffing levels have long been considered the single biggest factor in determining whether a nursing home is capable of providing care that meets professional standards. The Biden administration has proposed a set of clearly defined minimum staffing levels for those nursing homes that collect taxpayer money through Medicare and Medicaid.

However, several GOP governors, including Iowa’s Kim Reynolds, and members of Congress have voiced opposition to federally mandated minimum staffing levels. Currently, there are several bills and resolutions in Congress that would prohibit the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services from establishing new standards for staffing, or even enforcing existing standards.

Industry lobbyists, including the American Health Care Association and Leading Age, both of which have Iowa-based affiliates, say mandatory staffing levels amount to an unfunded mandate that can’t be met due to nursing shortages and insufficient funding.

The post Iowa nursing home cited for insufficient staffing after resident’s death appeared first on Iowa Capital Dispatch .