BUFFALO CENTER, Iowa (AP) — The state has proposed fining a northern Iowa nursing home nearly $30,000, in part over the treatment of an 87-year-old woman officials said was in pain and may not have had water several days before her death. The Iowa Inspections and Appeals Department hasn’t imposed the fine yet against Timely Mission Nursing Home in Buffalo Center, so the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services could take over the case. The Des Moines Register reports that no state or federal fine has yet been imposed.

A spokesman for the Iowa department, David Werning, said Tuesday the proposed fines covered the woman’s case and two others: the lack of proper assessment and care of another patient who died at the home the same day and the lack of proper assessment and care of a woman who was diagnosed at a local hospital with infectious colitis, a painful inflammation of the colon. Trinity Mission is run by a tax-exempt nonprofit corporation headed by President Lorie Bierle and Vice President Larry Weaver. Staffers told inspectors that the 87-year-old woman, Virginia Olthoff, was often in pain in the days before her death. Before she went to a hospital Feb. 27, the state citation said, Olthoff was crying, moaning, screaming and bleating “like a sheep” but was given only a nonprescription pain reliever.

Timely Mission staffers noticed Olthoff’s eyes were sunken and dark and told inspectors they couldn’t get a blood pressure reading or feel her pulse. Nearly three hours later Olthoff taken by ambulance to the hospital. Inspectors said a registered nurse at the home explained the delay by saying she didn’t think Olthoff was “that bad yet” and said the staff “had other things to do besides sit there and watch the clock go by.” A hospital emergency room doctor later told inspectors that laboratory tests indicated Olthoff probably hadn’t consumed any fluids for four to five days and might have had very limited fluids for weeks. Olthoff was comatose when she arrived, the doctor said, but was awake and alert after receiving a more than 2 pints (1 liter) of water.
She died after being returned to the home that same day, the report said.

In an update to our earlier reports, a man who was seriously injured during a motorcycle accident Saturday afternoon in Ringgold County, has died. The Iowa State Patrol confirms 54-year-old Dewayne A. Clark, of Mt. Ayr, died from his injuries after being flown to a hospital in Des Moines.

Clark, who was not wearing a helmet, was riding a 2003 Harley Davidson motorcycle on Highway 169 in Mt. Ayr at around 1-p.m., Saturday, when he passed a golf cart on the left, as the cart was turning left onto E. Monroe Street, in Mt. Ayr.

The two occupants of the golf cart were not injured in the collision.

(Radio Iowa) – After years of trying to fix critical problems in many of the nation’s Veterans Affairs hospitals, Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley says confirming Robert Wilkie on Monday as the new V-A Secretary is a big plus. Grassley, a Republican, says Wilkie has proven himself as being a supporter of whistleblowers and he doesn’t retaliate against those who speak out when there’s trouble. “Respect for whistleblowers, because we wouldn’t have known anything about everything that was happening that was so tragic down in Arizona four or five years ago if whistleblowers hadn’t of come forward.”

A report issued earlier this month found almost 700-thousand veterans were waiting more than 30 days for appointments at V-A facilities, while 76-thousand veterans had waited more than six months. Only the Pentagon is larger than the V-A, so in a bureaucracy of that size, Grassley says it can be a difficult process to identify and remove people who are part of the problem. “When things are wrong, if heads don’t roll, nothing changes,” Grassley says. “It’s going to be easier under existing law for the VA to fire people, so when something’s wrong, you send a real strong signal if you fire people.”
In a news release, Grassley says, “Wilkie has dedicated his life to defending and serving his nation as a member of the armed forces and a distinguished public servant.” The Choice program that was set up in the V-A in 2014 isn’t working the way it should, according to Grassley, and he trusts Wilkie to make the needed corrections. “Getting that straightened out so people can have access to private medical care when the VA can’t deliver it within 30 days for a non-emergency situation ought to be a top priority,” he says.

Wilkie becomes the fourth V-A secretary in five years. The inspector general’s report found more than 23-hundred job openings in V-A clinics nationwide. In recent years, some officials in V-A hospitals were accused of falsifying wait times and at least 40 veterans died while waiting for care. A V-A report released in June found the suicide rate among veterans in 2011 was 16 per day, while now, up to 20 veterans take their own lives each day.

Red Oak Police report two people were arrested this (Tuesday) morning, on drug charges. 22-year old Paige Marie Clark, of Council Bluffs, was arrested for Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. Her bond was set at $300. And, 27-year old Aaron Gar Nelson, of Omaha, was arrested for felony Ongoing Criminal Conduct, and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. His bond was set at $25,000. Both were taken into custody just before 8-a.m. in the 300 block of N. 8th Street, in Red Oak.

The Union County Sheriff’s Office reports 38-year old Michael James Chamberlain, of Afton, was arrested at around 2-a.m. Friday in Afton. He was arrested on a Palo Alto County Court Order and a Palo Alto County warrant for failure to appear. Chamberlain was held in the Union County Jail until being picked up by Palo Alto County Deputies.

A Cass County woman being held in the Pottawattamie County Jail for Theft in the 5th Degree, was served with a warrant Monday afternoon out of Sarpy County, NE. The Pott. County Sheriff’s Office reports a Fugitive from Justice warrant was served on 29-year old Heidi K. Johnson, of Marne. After being read the warrant, Johnson was returned to the custody of Corrections staff. She was being held without bond on the warrant, and a $5,000 bond on the Theft charge.

Two other persons were served with warrants, Monday. 20-year old Keegan Christian Caskey, of Council Bluffs, turned himself-in to the Pott. County Sheriff’s Office Monday morning. He was taken into custody on a Probation Violation warrant out of Story County. His cash or surety bond was set at $2,000. And, 24-year old Alexandria Aspen French, of Las Vegas, NV., was arrested Monday morning on warrants for 2nd Degree Robbery, Conspiracy to Commit a Forcible Felony, and Assault While Participating in a felony. She was being held without bond on the Conspiracy and Assault charges. Bond on the Robbery charge was set at $25,000.

More State and area news from KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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