By MaryHelen Swanson

Green Acres Country Care Center (GACCC) has received 31 ìtagsî during an inspection by a team of state and federal inspectors late in May.

According to GACCC director Steve Mork, the state conducts the survey every year, arriving unannounced.

This year federal inspectors were included. The team of 10 spent a week at the nursing home and wrote up a number of things that need to be changed or addressed.

Mork said he takes it very seriously, but still doesnít think any of the citations were that significant.

The infractions included things such as one person not washing wash his or her hands at the right time. Mork said there is zero tolerance for such infractions.

Some of the tags are being contested, Mork said.

To address the issues, GACCC has brought in extra staff in the form of ìcare coachesî who travel with the staff every day to see that everything is being done right.

This is an additional cost that is being picked up by the nursing home.

Only one tag related directly to the nursing homeís physical condition, Mork said. The survey team found some scratches and loose pieces of laminate on bathroom doors on which they felt a resident could get scratched.

The situation is being remedied, Mork said.

Other tags included things such as documentation, how the care is provided, and one was a an issue of a person sitting too low at the dining table.

When the survey team talked with the residents and families, Mork said, the report showed they had few complaints but wanted more weekend activities.

Mork acknowledged that the home receives letters of complaints, but many more letters of thanks for the quality care.

Mork said the survey team, which originated from Duluth, is known to be extremely strict. He believes there has been a change in the survey process.

Why so stringent this year?

Mork said it has been more and more strict in the past couple of years. It seems to be a trend, he said, noting that three other facilities were nearly brought to the brink of decertification and some Duluth facilities were unable to admit any more residents.

Weíre not the only one in this, he said. He also noted that it could take only one serious citation to cause decertification in a facility.
Were the tags a result of reduced staff?

Mork said the staff has been reduced proportionately by the reduced occupancy. The residents still get the same amount of daily care, he said.

The challenge is that the remaining staff has to wear more hats.

He noted that the Board of Social Ministry, which operates the facility, conducts its own internal survey and the BSM report was good.
Mork said they were expecting an average rating, but not below average. The average for the Duluth team, he said, is around 17 tags.
In perspective, he went on, the team looked at thousands of things when they were here.

Ironically, Mork thinks that the tags may actually turn out to be the nursing homeís greatest advocate.

It seems, he said in an interview Tuesday morning, that the legislature may pay attention more and provide the additional funding needed for the care in nursing homes.

GACCC placed a July 10 deadline to have the issues address.

They will know if they have succeeded when the team makes another unannounced visit soon.

Mork said he would not be overly concerned if they found a couple of things yet and hopes that those would be taken care of when the team came again, also unannounced. He noted that only about 20-25 percent of nursing home facilities will pass on the first resurvey.
Mork said he has the highest regard for the staff and knows the care is quality.

His own grandfather was recently a resident of the home.

County Commissioner Lora Walker, who serves on the GACCC board as a liaison from the county board, said it was beneficial to immediately place the care coaches in the home.

Walker had informed the county board last week of the 31 tags at the nursing home. Mork said the home will continue to do whatever it takes to get back into compliance.

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