Former administrator at shuttered care facility is sanctioned by the state

A state board has sanctioned an Iowa nursing home administrator for widespread quality-of-care issues in one of the facilities she managed.

The Iowa Board of Nursing Home Administrators recently charged Janelle Case with negligence in the practice of the profession, which the board states may involve a failure to exercise due care; negligent delegation of duties or supervision; or any conduct that impairs one’s ability to safely and skillfully practice the profession.

The board alleges Case was the administrator at the Aspire of Donnellson care facility in Lee County until January 2024. The board says it later received a copy of an Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals and Licensing report of an inspection that was completed at the facility in February 2024.

That report, the board says, alleged that “the facility failed to ensure effective administration to ensure the provision of high-quality healthcare and nursing services for 24 of the 24 residents who resided at the facility.”

DIAL records show the Aspire facility was cited for an exceptionally large number of regulatory issues — 27 federal violations, plus three state violations — in February 2024, including violations related to the frequency of physician visits, insufficient nursing staff, insufficient competency of the staff, medication errors, administration, infection control, overall quality of care and inadequate staff training in eight separate disciplines.

State records show that inspection was in response to 10 separate complaints, nine of which were substantiated by inspectors.

Inspectors returned to Aspire of Donnellson in August 2024, the same month a fire at the home forced an evacuation of the residents. The inspectors cited the home for 42 regulatory violations, and revoked the home’s license, at which point the facility closed.

In its recent decision, the Board of Nursing Home Administrators noted the DIAL inspectors had cited specific concerns in February 2024 with a lack of employee training, lack of appropriate policies and procedures, and a lack of complete patient medical records and updated care plans for residents.

According to the board, Case was a new administrator at the time and corporate owners had not provided her with adequate resources and support. Board records indicate Case currently maintains that all of the staff at Aspire of Donnellson was properly trained, and that she feels she upheld her responsibility to provide excellent care, and that she continues to uphold all ethical practices of healthcare administration.

In order to resolve the disciplinary case without proceeding to a hearing on the matter, the board and Case recently agreed to a settlement. The agreement calls for Case to complete 10 hours of educational training on the subjects of quality assurance and leadership.

As part of that same agreement, Case’s license will be placed on probation for one year, during which another Iowa-licensed nursing home administrators will serve as her practice monitor, meet with Case for at least one hour each week, and file quarterly reports with the board.

State records indicate Case is currently the administrator at the Bloomfield Care Center in Davis County. The Iowa Capital Dispatch was not able to reach Case for comment on Tuesday. Staffers at the Bloomfield home said Case had not been in the building that day and they could not contact her unless there was an emergency.