An Iowa nursing home for military veterans has recently been targeted by the state for an investigation into its management practices, The Des Moines Register reports. The nursing home, which is the largest senior care facility in Iowa, has faced allegations of poor management and care abuse in the past, placing the facility under scrutiny from state officials from the Department of Administrative Services and the Department of Elder Affairs.
Nursing home manager Commandant David Worley, a Gulf War veteran, faced repeated criticism of his "blunt management style" over the last three years, according to the news source. Last April, about 40 nursing home staffers penned a letter to The Des Moines Register and other Iowa newspapers describing the lack of morale and stressful conditions.
The allegations took a serious turn when state Sen. Daryl Beall, chairman of the Iowa Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, wrote a letter to State Ombudsman Ruth Cooperrider claiming he received firsthand accounts of sexual harassment and bullying by Worley against his staff and residents, the news outlet reports.
State Sen. Steve Sodders also told the news source that he hears stories from his veteran constituents about poor conditions at the nursing home, mostly because the facility is under-staffed. However, Sodders said that the atmosphere at the nursing home has reportedly improved.
"People say that as far as Worley is concerned, he has been far less abusive. They have hidden him away in an office most of the time … So in that respect, it's better," Sodders told the news outlet.