(Photo illustration via Getty Images; logo courtesy of the Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals and Licensing)
For the third time in four months, the State of Iowa has fined the state-run Woodward Resource Center for deficiencies in resident care.
According to the Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals and Licensing, the Woodward Resource Center for people with intellectual disabilities was fined $4,250 on March 5 for failing to provide residents with their prescribed diets. That violation was tied to a finding that the Woodward staff provided food that not been cut into small, bite-size portions to a female resident who was known to be at risk of choking.
The resident was served a sandwich and whole meatballs on Christmas Eve last year. After the resident began to choke, a worker performed the Heimlich maneuver. After 10 abdominal thrusts, the resident’s airway was cleared.
Because the state did not appeal the state-imposed fine of $4,250, it was reduced 35% to $2,762.
The sanctions follow a $10,000 fine that stemmed from a January finding by DIAL that Woodward had placed residents in immediate jeopardy of harm by failing to provide adequate supervision for residents and failing to provide emergency medical responses.
According to inspectors, a 22-year-old resident of the home was found dead in the facility shortly before 5 a.m. on Sept. 9, 2024. The young man had been assigned “general supervision” status, meaning the staff was to check on him every 15 or 30 minutes.
A review of video footage showed one worker exiting the resident’s room at around 7:32 p.m. the night before, and not reentering the room again throughout the night. Another worker was seen entering the room five times between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m., but with no additional checks made between 2 a.m. and 4:58 a.m.
When the resident was found unresponsive at 4:58 a.m., three residential treatment workers were on the scene but did not initiate CPR per Woodward policy. Eventually, a nurse arrived and attempted CPR. EMTs were summoned, and at 5:43 a.m., the resident was pronounced dead.
The cause of death was later ruled to be toxic levels of clozapine – a drug that is commonly used to treat schizophrenia — although no violations related to a drug overdose were cited. According to a report from the Woodward staff, two of the residential treatment workers were fired after the death, and two were disciplined in some fashion.
Because the state did not appeal the state-imposed fine of $10,250, it was reduced 35% to $6,500.
A few weeks earlier, in December 2024, Woodward was fined $500 for failing to have reported resident abuse. According to inspectors, surveillance video showed an 18-year-old client seated and rocking in a living room recliner when a worker crossed the room, stepped behind the recliner and tried to push it forward.
As the resident clutched the armrests and braced himself, the worker gave the back of the recliner a hard shove toward the floor, and the resident “somersaulted out backwards,” inspectors reported.
Because the state did not appeal the state-imposed fine of $500 for abuse, the penalty was reduced 35% to $325.