toledoblade.com -- The Blade ~ Toledo Ohio

The third time in a matter of months that Florence Kolodziejczyk was hospitalized, her daughter was told the 89-year-old retired factory worker could not go home without around-the-clock care.

So Carol Koperski had about two weeks to find a nursing home for her mother, who had heart problems for seven years but still was able to mostly stay on her own.

"I thought, 'Where do I go and what do I do?'" Mrs. Koperski of Maumee said. "It was frightening. You panic, kind of."

But Mrs. Koperski said she started gathering information about nursing homes from the Area Office on Aging of Northwestern Ohio and other sources. She visited nursing homes, winnowed choices to three, and selected Elizabeth Scott Community in Springfield Township.

Mrs. Koperski's advice to others with loved ones who may need nursing care: Start looking long before it's needed.

"Do it now - don't wait until you have to," said Mrs. Koperski, who, like her mother, has been happy with Elizabeth Scott. "It's something you put off, but you want to be prepared."

Nursing homes are under increased scrutiny after several heart-wrenching incidents locally, including nurse John Riems' reported confession that he sexually assaulted about 100 nursing home residents in his 20-year career.

A trial on allegations that Mr. Riems raped and abused two disabled male residents at Concord Care and Rehabilitation Center in Perkins Township, his most recent employer, is scheduled for March 31 in Erie County Common Pleas Court. Both Mr. Riems and Concord Care, which declined to be interviewed, also face multiple abuse-related civil lawsuits.

Peggy Kuhnle, left, visits her mother, Ruth Hammons, at Elizabeth Scott Community, Springfield Township. It is one of five homes in Lucas County where the state found no deficiencies.

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Other local incidents that have raised questions about nursing home care and security include:

•Norbert Konwin died two years ago after his roommate allegedly beat him with a towel bar at Foundation Park Care Center in South Toledo. The suspect has been found incompetent to stand trial on a murder charge.

•Patricia Matney, a Heartland of Waterville resident with multiple sclerosis who could not move without assistance, died nearly three years ago after sunbathing for several hours on a concrete patio in 90-plus-degree heat. The Lucas County coroner ruled her death was accidental because of negligence, and her daughter has filed a civil lawsuit against the nursing home, owned by HCR ManorCare Inc. of Toledo.

•The state decided another facility owned by ManorCare, Heartland of Perrysburg, failed to prevent the 2006 death of Margaret Reed, who opened a stairwell door on the second floor and fell down nine concrete steps to the landing.

•Joseph Pipa was hospitalized this month after being hit several times in the face by another resident at Plaza Care Center in central Toledo.

Still, no nursing homes in northwest Ohio or southeast Michigan are on a federal list of facilities with a history of serious quality issues. The list does contain some nursing homes in Detroit and Mansfield, Ohio.

Nationwide, about 1.8 million people live in nursing homes. And nearly 75 percent of nursing home residents are 75 or older, with a median age of 83.2, according to the most recent statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Most area nursing homes have some quality-of-care deficiencies found in recent inspections by state surveyors, which are used to determine if they are meeting Medicare and Medicaid requirements.

Results of those inspections can help people assess nursing homes, industry experts say. Other survey results, a look at substantiated complaints to the state, visits during different times of the day and week, guidance from doctors and ombudsmen, opinions of those who work and live there, and gut instincts are some other helpful tactics in selecting a nursing home, they say.

"I think the most important thing is to spend time with staff, spend time with residents there - and if there's any visitors too," said Mrs. Koperski, whose mother improved enough to go into Elizabeth Scott's assisted living facility last week.

Said Mrs. Kolodziejczyk, who had her piano moved in: "They want you to feel like this is your home, and I accept this as my home."

Inspection results for both Ohio and Michigan nursing homes can be found on Medicare's facility comparison Web site, http://www.medicare.gov/NHcompare/home.asp. State ombudsman offices also will help people who have narrowed their searches to two or three nursing homes get inspection information.

The Ohio Department of Aging also has inspection results and other information on its Web site, http://www.ltcohio.org/consumer/index.asp, including substantiated complaints received by the state and results of family and resident satisfaction surveys.

In Lucas County, for example, the number of deficiencies found by state surveyors during the most recent inspections range from none at five nursing homes - Elizabeth Scott, Rosary Care Center, Swan Creek Retirement Village, Ursuline Center, and Waterford Commons - to 13 at Arbors At Oregon, according to information on the state Web site last week. Statewide, the average number of deficiencies found on inspections is 4.7, it said.

Nine of the 13 deficiencies found in March, 2007, at Arbors At Oregon were corrected in May, according to the state Web site. In the previous two inspections, meanwhile, Arbors At Oregon had no deficiencies, it said.

The long-term care ombudsman program for Lucas and nine other northwest Ohio counties also takes confidential complaints, and it will brief potential residents and loved ones about verified problems, said Sandra Hamilton, director of the program at Advocates for Basic Legal Equality Inc.

The program has about 60 certified volunteers who regularly visit assigned nursing homes to educate residents about their rights and help with complaints, Ms. Hamilton said. Volunteers have increased in numbers in recent years, and about a third of the nursing homes in the area are covered, she said.

Common complaints include lost or missing property, care issues such as call lights going unanswered for up to an hour or residents falling because there is not enough staff to help, and involuntary discharges, Ms. Hamilton said.

During visits to potential nursing homes, among situations people should observe are whether the facility and residents are clean, residents are dressed appropriately and engaged in activities, food appears appetizing, and call lights are responded to quickly, nursing home experts said.

Among questions they should ask staff is what the employee turnover rate is, how nurse aides are screened and trained, are physical and other therapies offered, and how complaints are handled, they said.

"Just because a nursing home looks really nice … doesn't mean they provide the highest care," Ms. Hamilton said.

Loved ones should make unscheduled visits to nursing homes so they can examine facilities beyond lobbies and offices and talk to residents, making sure to look at their rooms, said Kurt Gleason, ombudsman at Detroit-based Citizens for Better Care, which helps Monroe County residents with nursing home issues.

"Just pop in," he said. "Don't give them a chance to gussy up."

For Peggy Kuhnle of Springfield Township, being close to her mother, security, and good care were top priorities, she said.

Ruth Hammons, 89, moved into Elizabeth Scott's assisted living four years ago, and she has been in the nursing home there for nearly four years.

"It's the best place I've ever lived," Mrs. Hammons said. "They treat you nice."

Contact Julie M. McKinnon at:
jmckinnon@theblade.com
or 419-724-6087.

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