Payment of Medicare and Medicaid for new admissions will be cut off May 6 for a South Toledo nursing home where authorities allege a resident was beaten to death by his roommate.
The Ohio Department of Health issued the order this week and recommended the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services penalize Foundation Park Care Center $4,050 per day, retroactive from March 10-30, and $100 per day from March 31 until it complies with 10 deficiencies noted in a recent state inspection report.
The federal agency also should terminate the facility’s Medicare and Medicaid provider agreements no later than Oct. 7, the Health Department recommended.
The April 17 inspection report — which does not identify people by name — indicates that Sharon John Hawkins, who is accused of murder in the death of his roommate, Norbert Konwin, hit two other residents in separate incidents in January and February.
Neither of those two assaults, nor the March 10 attack on Mr. Konwin that led to his death, were reported to the state Health Department or Toledo police.
“The sad thing is when this [resident] was hit in the face in January, had they reported that to the Department of Health, they would have had their hand slapped pretty good. The Department of Health would have come in and said, ‘Clean up your act and don’t let this happen again,’” said Ted Kurt, an attorney for Mr. Konwin’s estate.
Foundation Park can appeal the findings or question the cited deficiencies through an informal dispute resolution process.
It also must submit a plan of correction for each of the deficiencies.
Disagree with findings Eric Valuckas, the nursing home’s administrator, said in a statement issued yesterday that the facility is in the process of preparing the correction plan, but the facility’s operators disagree with the health department findings.
“The incident March 10 was unforeseeable, and we had no knowledge that it would occur. Therefore, we are going to participate in the informal dispute resolution process,” he said.
Mr. Konwin, 77, who had Alzheimer’s, sustained fractured ribs, a fractured nose, and a collapsed lung during the assault in the room the men shared at Foundation Park.
He was treated at Toledo Hospital for four days before returning to the nursing home, where he died March 24.
The state report indicates Mr. Konwin was found in Mr. Hawkins’ bed. After the attack, Mr. Hawkins told the director of nursing that he hit his roommate because he did not like his roommate in his bed.
When the director of nursing told him Mr. Konwin was going to the emergency room, Mr. Hawkins said, “I hope he dies,” the report states.
Mr. Hawkins, 62, who was diagnosed with schizophrenia and dementia, will undergo an evaluation to determine whether he is competent to stand trial in Mr. Konwin’s death.
Prior to the assaults at Foundation Park, Mr. Hawkins was charged by police with assaults at other facilities, including a group home.
Those charges were dismissed, in part, because of his mental state.
The Department of Health report details the two prior assaults at Foundation Park involving Mr. Hawkins.
In January, he hit a resident in the face until she was bleeding. A social worker recommended a psychiatric evaluation and said Mr. Hawkins should be checked visually every 15 minutes.
But, as verified with the social worker during an interview March 28, there was no evidence psychiatric services were arranged or provided, the report states.
Mr. Hawkins was sent to a hospital geriatric psychiatric unit for adjustment of his psychiatric medications after he punched another resident the next month when the resident ran into him with a wheelchair.
Mr. Hawkins returned to Foundation Park, which made no changes to his psychosocial/behavioral care plans after he was readmitted, according to the report.
The survey also found that an activity monitor — who saw Mr. Konwin every 15 minutes on the day he was assaulted — revealed that she recorded her last observation at 2 p.m., but her time card indicated she clocked out at 1:56 p.m., the report states.
The health department noted the 10 deficiencies during an annual and extended survey at Foundation Park.
They include abuse, staff treatment of residents, social services, housekeeping/maintenance, comprehensive care plans, accidents, and sanitary conditions — food prep and service, and preventing spread of infection.
Disturbed by report Some of the deficiencies involve other residents or the facility’s cleanliness.
Mr. Kurt said he was disturbed by what he read in the report, but he doesn’t want the facility shut down at this time because of the residents who are there.
“I’m hopeful, very hopeful, that those patients now are safer today than they might have been two or four weeks ago,” Mr. Kurt said.
Mr. Konwin’s widow has filed a lawsuit against the nursing home, its parent company, and its executive officers in her husband’s death.
Mr. Kurt said she is “encouraged” that pressure is being put on the nursing home to correct its problems.
“She has told me over and over again, this should not happen to anybody,” he said.
Contact Christina Hall at chall@theblade.com or 419-724-6007. Permanent LinkToledo nursing home where patient was beaten to lose federal paymentshttp://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060419/NEWS32/60419025STORY:200660419025
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