(Anita) A Cass County nursing home with a history of abuse-related violations is again facing possible federal fines for failing to protect residents from abuse.
The state has proposed fines of $30,250 against Caring Acres Nursing and Rehabilitation in Anita. The proposed fines are tied to verbal abuse allegedly committed by a teenage caregiver. The fines are being held in suspension while the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services determines whether it will impose a federal penalty in place of any state fines.
The proposed penalty would have totaled $14,250 but a portion of the fines was tripled due to abuse being a recurring violation at Caring Acres. In 2023, Caring Acres was cited for resident abuse after a male a resident of the home, whose history of groping workers and residents had earned him the nickname “Captain McFeelypants,” was determined to have sexually abused residents.
The more recent incident is detailed in state inspection reports about a female resident’s recent complaint that she waited two hours for the staff to put her to bed. According to state inspection reports, the woman alleged that when she complained to the staff, a certified nursing assistant – whom the resident and staff described as the 16-year-old daughter of the assistant director of nursing – said to her, “I am not putting up with your s— tonight,” and walked away. The teen had also berated her in the past and had been physically rough with her, the woman alleged.
One Caring Acres employee allegedly told inspectors she had to hold back her own tears after watching the resident cry while describing the verbal abuse and rough handling she was allegedly subjected to by the CNA.
The worker reportedly told inspectors that she personally witnessed the CNA telling another resident of the home, “Shut the f— up,” and, “I don’t care about your bulls—,” and said the teenager spent a lot of her time at work on her phone.
“When residents try to talk with her, she will not pay attention,” the worker allegedly told inspectors. “She will yell at nurses and her mom, who is the assistant director of nursing, (and) will tell her to shut up in front of residents while in the dining room.”
The residents, the worker allegedly told inspectors, “would be happier without her here because she is so disgusting and horrible” to them.
Charge nurse: Staff fears retaliation
The charge nurse at the home allegedly told inspectors the teenage CNA could “be really nasty to residents, really mean,” and would respond to residents’ requests for assistance by saying, “I don’t care, it’s not my problem … Her mom is the assistant director of nursing, and she will tell her to shut the f— up in front of residents.”
The charge nurse allegedly added that she and others at the home were fearful of retaliation for complaining “because all of (the CNA’s) family works at the facility.”
A third employee of the home told inspectors that when she worked with the CNA, the teen was “awful,” was defiant when anything was asked of her, and was loud and sarcastic. The employee said the CNA would curse at her mother, the assistant director of nursing, while residents were present.
The staff at the home told inspectors the CNA was temporarily suspended and then, after returning to work, was barred from providing care for the woman who had complained.
‘Captain McFeelypants’ incidents
In the 2023 incident, inspectors alleged that on Jan. 25, the home’s director of nursing entered a female resident’s room to tell her it was time for lunch and found a male resident of the home leaning over the woman’s bed, groping her breasts and kissing her intimately.
The director of nursing told the man to leave and, according to inspectors, she later “educated him on the importance of consent” and the fact that some people are not be able to make proper decisions for themselves.
In talking to inspectors, the director of nursing acknowledged that neither resident was capable of providing informed consent for sexual activity. She also told inspectors that when she informed the administrator, he indicated there was no need to tell the Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals and Licensing of the incident.
A nurse aide told inspectors the male resident’s nickname among the workers was “Captain McFeelypants” because of his inappropriate actions. She told inspectors the man would sit on the couch and grope female residents but he “never would go past first base.”
State inspectors also alleged that on the evening of July 17, 2023, a nurse aide had walked into a female resident’s room and found an undressed male resident of the home in the woman’s bed, on top of the woman. The man was in “mid-thrust when both residents turned to look at me,” the aide wrote in her report.” The aide separated the two and summoned a nurse to the room.
The nurse did an assessment of the female resident, and facility records indicate that when asked what happened the woman reported the man had come into her room and “said he wanted to do sex.” She reported that she told the man, “Get outta here,” at which point he took off his clothes, took off some of her clothes, and lay on top of her.
The woman – who had Alzheimer’s disease, schizophrenia and severely impaired cognitive skills — was checked for vaginal bleeding and reportedly told the staff she “didn’t mind” the encounter. The police were notified, as was DIAL.
As a result of the 2023 incidents, CMS fined the home $21,356. The home currently has a one-star rating from CMS for both staffing levels and overall quality.
Caring Acres is owned by Anew Healthcare Operations of Blue Springs, Mo. The for-profit company operates 12 nursing homes in Iowa, Kansas and Missouri. Company officials referred all questions about Caring Acres to CEO Mark Hastings who could not be reached for comment.
By: Clark Kauffman
