FEB 26, 2020 CLARK KAUFFMAN IOWA CAPITAL DISPATCH
A Dallas County nursing home that cut staffing to compensate for financial losses is on a federal watch list after inspectors cited the home for contributing to a resident death, hiring an unlicensed caregiver, failing to protect residents from sexual abuse and allowing a kitchen worker to supervise its dementia ward.
Financial troubles at the Rowley Memorial Masonic Home in Perry have been so severe in recent years the home was unable to buy bottled oxygen for the elderly residents who needed it simply to breathe, according to state records.
The home is now on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ Special Focus Facilities list. The national list was created to identify those homes that have an established pattern of numerous, serious violations related to resident care. The home is currently operating on a conditional license from the state.