Board fines nursing home administrator for failing to report assault conviction

An Iowa nursing home administrator has been fined by state regulators for failing to report a 2019 criminal conviction to licensing authorities.

The Iowa Board of Nursing Home Administrators recently charged administrator Brian Douglas Reindl with failure to notify the board within 30 days of a criminal conviction. According to the board, Reindl was working in both Iowa and Minnesota care facilities when the offense occurred seven years ago.

The board has not disclosed the nature of the criminal offense, other than to say that on Oct. 11, 2019, it resulted in a conviction for an unspecified misdemeanor offense in Minnesota.

Minnesota state records indicate that on July 2, 2019, sheriff’s deputies responded to a complaint at Pioneer Memorial Care Center in Erskine, Minnesota.  Reindl, the facility’s administrator at the time, had allegedly entered the office of the director of nursing while she was on break and refused to leave after being asked to do so.

The director of nursing alleged that when she attempted to leave the office, Reindl used his body to hold the door shut and only allowed her to leave after she indicated she was going to call the police. She alleged that she then entered the office of a third employee, locked the door, and called board members for the facility.

Reindl was charged with one count of misdemeanor harassment and one count of misdemeanor assault in the fifth degree, and a no-contact order was issued in the case.

According to the Minnesota Board of Nursing Home Administrators, Reindl’s employment at the home ended the next day, and he later pleaded guilty to a charge of assault causing fear and was placed on probation for one year. Several months later, in 2020, the Minnesota board issued an order of corrective action against Reindl, requiring him to complete six hours of educational training on professional conduct.

The Iowa Board of Nursing Home Administrators recently agreed to settle its case against Reindl with a $500 civil penalty and a requirement that he complete three hours of educational training on ethics.

The Iowa Capital Dispatch was not able to reach Reindl for comment.