Marion nursing home on federal radar for nearly 2 years

Crestview Acres in Linn County is one of the 10 Iowa nursing homes that qualify for inclusion on the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services special-focus facilities list based on poor performance. Located in Marion, the skilled and intermediate nursing care facility has qualified to be on the list for nearly two years.

The 100 certified-bed facility is ownx3/ed by QHC Management, a for-profit corporation that also operates nine other nursing homes across the state. According to the federal agency, Crestview Acres has a one-star overall rating, placing it well below average on health inspections, staffing and quality of resident care.

QHC Management did not respond last week to a request for comment.

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Since 2019, the Marion facility has been cited by federal inspectors for dozens of deficiencies, including health and safety violations that resulted in a $61,798 fine and two denied payments from Medicare, according to the federal agency.

During a March 2019 inspection – which resulted in the more than $61,000 penalty – federal inspectors found deficiencies that caused “immediate jeopardy to resident health or safety.” Inspectors cited the facility for failing to provide basic life support after staff did not perform CPR on a dying resident because the care plan did not reflect his wishes to resuscitate him.

That same inspection day, Crestview Acres also was cited for more than a dozen other deficiencies, including failure to prevent the development of pressure sores in two residents and failure to treat skin conditions in another.

In December 2019, the facility was cited by federal inspectors after failing to identify significant weight loss in one resident, who lost nearly 20 pounds over a six-month period. The resident required extensive assistance from staff for eating and other daily activities, according to the federal agency.

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