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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

State Bans New Patients At Valley Nursing Home

State inspectors have ordered a Spokane nursing home to stop accepting new residents after fining it for the sixth time in three years.

If conditions don’t improve drastically, Valleycrest Nursing & Rehabilitation Center may lose its federal Medicare funding, virtually shutting down the 190-bed nursing home, officials said.

Deficiencies ranged from improper care of bedsores and catheters to lack of respect for residents’ privacy.

“There was a serious problem there with pressure sores,” said Edith Coleman, who managed the inspection for the Department of Social and Health Services.

Valleycrest, 12715 E. Mission, was warned about the problems during a routine inspection in January. Coleman ordered the nursing home to stop accepting new residents on May 9, after discovering deficiencies still existed when inspectors returned for a second visit in late April.

Valleycrest was fined $6,000 for inadequate patient care and extensive bedsores.

Fines cost Valleycrest $4,000 in August 1992, $1,500 in January 1993, $2,500 in October 1993, and $2,000 in August 1994, Coleman said.

The nursing home appealed a $3,000 fine last September. That case is still open.

“That’s a lot of fines,” said Coleman. “It makes it a little more serious when it’s repeat violations.”

Gail Brown, administrator at Valleycrest, refused to discuss the inspection. She referred questions to a spokesman in Milwaukee, Wis.

“We are extremely concerned with the results of the survey,” said spokesman Mike Mervis.

“It is our intention to take whatever steps are necessary to bring the facility into full and acceptable compliance for both the short, and just as important, the long term.”

Mervis works for Unicare Homes, Inc., the company that owns Valleycrest. He said he hasn’t visited the Spokane nursing home since last fall.

Nursing home employees are reviewing patient charts with doctors to make sure residents are getting proper treatment, he said.

Deficiencies cited in the 36-page inspection report include:

People who didn’t have bedsores got them after admission to Valleycrest. Those who already had them didn’t get proper care to promote healing and prevent infection.

Residents were left lying on urine-soaked sheets.

Employees didn’t wash their hands often enough. A nursing assistant went from checking a man for incontinence to feeding others in the dining room without washing her hands.

Dietitians weren’t notified when residents picked at meals and lost weight rapidly.

Residents complained they were forced to get up at 5 a.m. even when they wanted to sleep later. One reported feeling “like an inmate.”

Residents with feeding tubes didn’t receive appropriate treatment to prevent pneumonia and other complications.

Valleycrest officials have until June 27 to prove to state inspectors that they can fix the problems, Coleman said.

If that doesn’t happen, Coleman said she will recommend to the federal Health Care Financing Administration that Valleycrest lose its Medicare reimbursement.