Shroud on Assisted-Living Reports (Iowa, USA)

Lawmakers: Revisit shroud on assisted-living reports
By CLARK KAUFFMAN

Government inspection reports showed six years ago that some elderly Iowans living in assisted-living centers were repeatedly subjected to abuse and neglect.Abuse and neglect still occur today. But one thing has changed: The state's inspection reports that six years ago exposed the wrongdoing are now, for the most part, sealed from public view.It's now easier for an Iowan to see an inspection report on a hog-confinement facility than one on an assisted-living center for the state's elderly residents.
"There are dangers here, definitely," said Joel Olah, director of Aging Resources of Central Iowa. "This is not what we want for transparency. How does it help family members when they can't get the information that could be critical to their decision making?"Under a law that was enacted three years ago, state inspection reports on assisted-living facilities are kept confidential for about 70 days and can remain secret for a year or more while a facility appeals the state's findings.
That's not the case with inspectors' reports on nursing homes, hotels, motels, restaurants and hog-confinement operations. Inspection reports on those facilities are made public almost immediately after they are written.The delay in disclosure means some of the 10,000 Iowa seniors now in assisted-living centers may die before the state reports a company's deficiencies in hiring, staffing, training and checking the background of employees - all of which could have a direct effect on the residents' health and safety.
Barbara Fleener was one such person.The lifelong Iowan worked briefly for Maytag before becoming a homemaker and raising three children. Late last year, widowed and 85 years old, she moved into Legacy Gardens, an assisted-living center in Iowa City. At the time, the facility's three most recent state inspection reports were sealed from public view - and they still are today.Two weeks ago, an employee at Legacy Gardens was charged with assault after being accused of backhanding Fleener in the face. Four days after the incident, Fleener died at an Iowa City-area hospital of causes unrelated to the alleged assault.

Although Legacy Gardens' most recent inspection reports are sealed, one report from early 2007 has been made public. It predates Fleener's arrival at the home by eight months, but it details numerous findings of criminal assault, physical abuse, medication errors and resident neglect.

The state agency that was created specifically to advocate for Iowa seniors, the Iowa Department of Elder Affairs, is not calling for the records to be opened."This isn't something we have a firm position on at this time," said John McCalley, the department's executive director. "That would be a big policy change, and the Legislature would have to weigh all of the options and be, ultimately, the one that decides."In fact, the department supported the 2005 legislation that resulted in the records being sealed from public view. The law had many elements, and McCalley said the secrecy provision was something industry officials insisted on."The industry is very powerful in this state," he said. "It was something we had to live with."

Full-text from SOURCE: desmoinesregister