Nursing Home In Violation Franklin Hills Report Cites Poorly Monitored Bowel, Eating Problems

A North Side nursing home cannot accept new residents until it fixes problems feeding and caring for some patients.

The Franklin Hills Health and Rehabilitation Center, 6021 N. Lidgerwood, is one of three Spokane nursing homes owned by Unicare Homes Inc., a for-profit company that’s been plagued with regulatory problems. A fourth Spokane home owned by Unicare was shut down last fall.

Franklin Hills referred questions to company headquarters in Milwaukee. Unicare spokesman Mike Mervis declined to talk about the state’s specific allegations. He also didn’t want to talk about the company’s history of problems with the state Department of Social and Health Services.

“We don’t have a good explanation for that,” said Mervis, adding that the company was working to correct any problems. “As a company, we are looking at this.”

Franklin Hills now cares for 117 people in its one-story, brick building on the North Side. Until violations are fixed, it will not be able to accept new admissions, readmissions and resident transfers.

DSHS inspections March 11 and April 1-2 said the nursing home had “a pattern of deficiencies that constitute actual harm.”

In a 20-page report, an inspector said licensed nursing staff failed to assess and properly monitor residents’ bowel movements. Some residents went four to 10 days before having a bowel movement and suffered hardened stools and weight loss.

The inspector also said the staff needs to properly care for patients who are incontinent and suffer skin problems.

Staff members also need to help patients eat. One blind resident was seen sitting in a hallway in front of his lunch.

“Five staff members were observed to walk by the resident and offer no cueing or explanation as to where food was located on the tray,” the inspector wrote in the report. “The resident continued to make efforts to get food to mouth, but food items were observed to fall off spoon.”

Another resident was supposed to receive help eating. But at one lunch, sitting in front of bowls of food, the resident said near the inspector: “I’m hungry. I’ll pay you $5 to help me eat.”

Franklin Hills submitted a plan of correction to the state, saying that it has reassessed patients’ bowel needs, reviewed their monitoring and updated their care plans.

Patient weights are becoming stable. The patient with a skin condition is being looked at daily.

Patients who need help eating are now receiving that help, the correction plan states.

Mervis said most of the state’s findings revolved around nutritional issues. He said the staff is reviewing them and working on a response that will be filed in the next two weeks. The state then will return for a follow-up inspection.

If the nursing home doesn’t fix the problems, the federal Health Care Financing Administration could stop payments to the home.

Unicare knows what that’s like.

The company used to own Valleycrest nursing home, which inspectors repeatedly flagged for poor care and failing to protect residents. Valleycrest was closed last fall after federal support was cut. The building has since been sold to a nonprofit Christian organization.

Unicare also owns Southcrest, which was ordered for a time last year not to accept new patients after inspectors said the home failed to properly investigate unexplained patient injuries.

The company’s other home, The Gardens on University, hasn’t had any major problems.

“We have one facility that operates virtually deficiency-free,” Mervis said.

, DataTimes