Parkridge Specialty Care and Rehabilitation of Pleasant Hill is being sued for allegedly contributing to the death of a resident. (Photo via Google Earth)
An Iowa nursing home is being sued for elder abuse and negligence in the death of a resident.
The family and estate of Neuang Boun Sisamouth are suing Parkridge Specialty Care and Rehabilitation of Pleasant Hill, as well as the home’s corporate parent, Care Initiatives of West Des Moines, in Polk County District Court. Also named as defendants are Curana Health of Iowa and two Parkridge nurses, Chelsey Schreiber and Dezaree Major, who may have been employed through Curana while working at Parkridge.
Sisamouth, who was diabetic, had been a resident at Parkridge for more than two years prior to her death in June 2022, at age 72.
The lawsuit alleged that around 8:45 a.m. on the morning of June 20, 2022, a certified nurse aide and a nurse each found that Sisamouth’s overall condition and vital signs had deteriorated. Her blood sugar, which was normally over 100, fell to a dangerously low level of 39, and her blood pressure had dropped, according to the lawsuit. In addition, she appeared to be wheezing and having trouble breathing, and her oxygen saturation had fallen to 89%, which was below the critical threshold of 90%.
The lawsuit alleges that Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioner Chelsey Schreiber noted in the medical record that the nursing staff informed her of Sisamouth’s decline and indicated the deterioration had begun the previous day.
Around 9 a.m., Sisamouth’s condition allegedly worsened and her eyes rolled back into her head. “Ms. Sisamouth’s condition was sufficiently dire that a lay person would have known to call 911,” the lawsuit states.
Around 10:43 a.m., the lawsuit claims, Schreiber examined Sisamouth again and then left her to deteriorate for another six hours before EMS was contacted.
During that time, the lawsuit alleges, Parkridge did not call 911 to assist Sisamouth, but did call 911 to report that the home’s administrator, Kelsey Anderson, had found a methamphetamine pipe in the building.
Shortly after 1 p.m., the staff contacted Sisamouth’s daughter and informed her of her mother’s condition. The daughter asked that the staff send her mother to the hospital immediately. Within a few minutes, the lawsuit alleges, Schreiber ordered Licensed Practical Nurse Dezaree Major to call 911 and have Sisamouth transported to the emergency room. However, the lawsuit claims, EMS wasn’t called for another 90 minutes, and the ambulance crew didn’t arrive at Parkridge until 3 p.m.
Sisamouth was taken to MercyOne Medical Center in Des Moines and was pronounced dead at 4:24 p.m. after resuscitation efforts failed.
According to the lawsuit, Schreiber later characterized Major’s failure to comply with her directives as neglect. The Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals subsequently cited Parkridge for numerous violations, including a failure to seek emergency treatment in a timely manner.
“Ms. Sisamouth experienced extreme and unimaginable pain and suffering as well as emotional distress,” the lawsuit states, alleging that Parkridge has been cited by the state for “multiple resident deaths” in the past.
“The facility has a history of repeated violations of state and federal statutes and regulations as well as fines due to its repeated gross failure to properly care for its residents,” the lawsuit states. “Medicare suspended payments to this entity, the entity has been given a one-star rating from the federal government and it has been fined multiple times.”
The lawsuit alleges the defendants are guilty of medical malpractice, elder abuse, and negligence. A trial date has yet to be scheduled.
The defendants have denied any wrongdoing. In its answer to the lawsuit, Care Initiatives has stated that the findings of state inspectors are not relevant or admissible in the case. According to state records, Curana Health of Iowa, also known as Elite Patient Care Iowa, is a Texas company whose sole member is Dr. Antonio Gamboa.
In 2023, Parkridge was deemed eligible for inclusion on the federal government’s list of “Special-Focus Facilities” that have recurring quality-of-care problems.
That same year, former Parkridge nurse Danny Trent Mendez-Patterson , 42, agreed to surrender his nursing license after being convicted of assault causing injury. Court records indicate that in December 2021, Mendez-Patterson was working at Parkridge when, according to witnesses, he pushed, slapped and hit a 77-year-old female resident of the home, causing bruising around her right eye. The woman suffered an anxiety attack and was briefly hospitalized, according to court records.
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