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closeWednesday, Nov. 25, 2009
State pulls license of W. Richland adult care home
By John Trumbo, Herald staff writer
WEST RICHLAND — The state of Washington has revoked the license of an adult residential care home in West Richland, forcing its owner to move the occupants out.
Mark Monteith, owner of Parkview Adult Family Care Home at 1702 S. Highlands Blvd., said he has appealed and hopes to have the license reinstated within a couple of months.
Officials from the Department of Social and Health Services received a complaint about staff allegedly not taking immediate and appropriate action for a resident who reportedly fell and broke her neck and received head injuries.
The state investigation found there was a delay in medical attention that "put the resident at risk of health complications," and that the resident's representative and physician were not "immediately notified."
The incident also allegedly was not logged as a record.
State officials also said residents needing care potentially were at risk because one of the hired caregivers did not understand English so the employee could not fully understand the job responsibilities.
Other violations included not having an adequate lock on a medications cabinet and not having enough staff on duty to meet a five-minute emergency evacuation procedure for residents with wheelchairs.
Monteith said he hopes to have the license restored following an administrative hearing.
"There were some complaints from a few employees," Monteith said, noting that several of the violations were related to the one incident when a resident fell and the caregiver didn't report it.
"Our resident manager didn't even know about it for four days," he said.
Monteith said he built the 5,051-square-foot, six-bedroom adult care home five years ago specifically as a place where his ailing mother-in-law could live.
He said the complaints came after he took action against one of the employees.
A new release issued Tuesday by the state Department of Social and Health Services said an investigation found "numerous violations (that) jeopardized the safety and well-being of residents."
-- John Trumbo: 582-1529; jtrumbo@tricityherald.com
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