(Des Moines, Iowa) – 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 Iowa Capital Dispatch reports 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 (CNA) – whom the resident and staff described as the 16-year-old daughter of the assistant director of nursing – refused to but the woman to bed and swore at her. She also allegedly berated the patient in the past, and had been physically rough with her. The teen also allegedly told another resident to shut up, and that she didn’t care about her issues. The same teen CNA also allegedly spent a lot of her time at work on her phone.
A 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.” 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 a CNA was temporarily suspended and then, after returning to work, was barred from providing care for the woman who had complained. 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.
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