Nursing Home Praised Families Rally For Valleycrest

Defenders of the embattled Valleycrest nursing home rallied Monday to praise a place regulators say should be shut down.

A dozen relatives of residents swore by the care and lamented the prospect of moving their parents or spouses to another home.

A few Valleycrest residents also vouched for their home, including a stroke victim who had told inspectors last week that “they hurt me when they turn me.”

On Monday, she said Valleycrest is the best of three homes she’s stayed at.

The small rally followed news that the government is cutting off Medicare and Medicaid payments to the sprawling home at 12715 E. Mission.

Regulators recommended closing the home after it failed its fifth consecutive inspection last week. Again, the home to 80 elderly residents was cited for poor care.

“My wife’s been here three years. You can’t beat this place,” said John Kirk, who visits his wife, Iola, for breakfast every morning.

Mel Stevenson has visited the home for more than a decade, first to see his dad and now to see his wife. Stevenson, like others, said there has been high staff turnover at the home recently, but care never has been better.

“When Delores came here in 1989, she was 105 pounds. Now she’s 133 pounds,” he said. “They love her. Her care’s always been excellent.”

The federal government will continue paying Valleycrest’s bills for the next 30 days to give people time to find new homes for the residents.

But the parent company of the facility vows to fight to keep it open.

Unicare officials say they will spend $1 million, if necessary, to keep the home open at least another three months while they hope regulators will give them another chance.

Valleycrest has been out of compliance with federal care standards for the past seven months. It also has failed two spot inspections.

In April, inspectors said a woman was going hungry even though she was asking for food. A worker also had withheld insulin from a diabetic as punishment, the inspector said.

Valleycrest has appealed every care violation the state has documented during inspections this year.

Last week, inspectors cited the home for failing to care adequately for a woman with damaged feet. They also flagged the home’s response to Eileen Carey’s complaint.

Carey, 70, told inspectors, “They’re rough. They’re mean, and they hurt me when they turn me.”

The allegation was shared with nurses, but two days later, inspectors said it still hadn’t been investigated.

On Monday, Carey’s daughter, Debbie Gilcrist, said her mother suffered a stroke last year, paralyzing her left side. She said inspectors mistook her usual surly discomfort for a serious formal complaint.

Gilcrist - who works at Valleycrest as a nurse’s aide - said it’s impossible to move her mother without hurting her. She said her mother complains that it hurts when she is hugged by her 10-year-old grandson.

After some aides moved her to change her sheets, Carey answered a few questions. Asked if the nurses were gentle with her, she said yes.

The frail woman said Valleycrest is the best of three homes she’s been to. She said she doesn’t want to move.

, DataTimes