Iowa Nursing Home Settles Neglect Allegations for $75K

An Iowa nursing home has agreed to pay $75,000 to settle allegations of patient neglect.

Federal officials fined Friendship Manor of Grinnell more than $101,000 last fall after a resident lost a leg to gangrene and later died.

Owner Tim Boyle appealed the penalty. Last week, he agreed to settle the case by paying $75,000 to the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

The case involved 89-year-old Ruth Louden. She entered the nursing home in 2008 for what was expected to be a short stay for physical therapy after fracturing an ankle.

According to state inspectors, during the next four weeks, Louden complained about pain. She was taken to a hospital where doctors diagnosed gangrene and amputated her leg. Louden died three months later.

Information from: The Des Moines Register,
http://www.desmoinesregister.com