The Miami Herald from Miami, Florida • 38

6B THE HERALD THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 3 1998 North Miami nursing home told to improve or close administrator who has worked for the home since at least 1996 was not allowed to comment to the press a corporate policy that a spokesman handle the media so how handling Janson said not looking backward going to be looking forward We expect to be coming into compliance very very Integrated Health Services based near Baltimore also owns IHS of West Broward and Fountainhead Nursing Center according to state records Workers at Fountainhead said they would contact The Herald late Wednesday but did not Janson said she did not have the background to immediately comment on the West Broward nursing home Inspections take into account Pinehurst Rehabilitation and Specialty Care patients according to Senior Vice President Gene Clark at the Arkansas-based Beverly-Enter-prises which owns Pinehurst according to a state outline of the Get Up or Get Out program obtained Wednesday by The Herald The measure is one of several adopted this summer by Agency for Health Care Administration Lax regulation became an issue after Miami nursing home inspectors failed in May to visit a -longtime violator Jackson Manor that long suffered from a lack of air conditioning Eventually two patients died 47 were hospitalized and the state shut the home is long overdue and about time that the state started getting involved with these kinds of nursing said attorney Rudy Suarez a Coconut Grove attorney with the Fuller Suarez law firm which specializes in malpractice cases against nursing homes Herald writers Jennifer Mathieu and Morgan Winsor contributed to this article Herald staff writer Peggy Rogers can be contacted by e-mail at prog rstwaldcom They are more time-consuming patients who need more extra care than Clark said in an environment with normal activities such as a home you want anyone popping in unnoticed evaluating your establishment We are consistently working with state agencies to improve our care for residents We are making every Administrators of the other South Florida homes could not be reached for comment Florida gives or unacceptable ratings to homes that comply with significant state and federal standards Under the new program those with a history of conditional ratings will have to achieve and then maintain a or acceptable rating for at least two years authorities say If a home slips back into conditional status the violation is to be treated as the breaking of the initial 90-day cleanup period requiring the most action possi cutting off care of his infected bedsore thereby allowing the infection to spread Inspectors have been to the center at least 1 1 times since November 1995 records show A spokeswoman for the nursing home chain said the home was acquired within the past months by a new owner Integrated Health Services State records indicate that Tallahassee authorities approved a change of ownership in January Spokeswoman Karen Janson said she could not explain if that was the same purchase and would not comment on the latest patient death against our policy to talk about any case Janson said something going to be working very closely with the state on but not something that going to be commenting on She said the home also would not comment on a litany of problems extending back to at least 1995 She said she familiar with the problems and that the ing tubes through noses because it was more convenient than feeding them and for failing to report medical problems to a doctor The 83-bed Pinehurst Rehabilitation and Specialty Care Center 2401 NE Second St Pompano Beach cited for failing to allow patients to maintain their independence and daily living skills and for ordering residents to The 240-bed Washington Manor Nursing and Rehabilitation Center 4200 Washington St Hollywood cited for a widespread absence of activities to keep residents sitting idly and making mistakes in dispensing medications In one of the most serious cases the North Miami Nursing and Rehabilitation Center has been unable to admit new patients since last week when inspectors decided that deficient care contributed to a death Last year state regulators decided that the North Miami nursing home had contributed to another death in 1995 abruptly HOMES FROM IB homes that since 1995 have slid into the poorest rating category known as a rating were ordered to pick themselves up only to drop again Thus far the list includes these South Florida homes: The 245-bed North Miami Nursing and Rehabilitation Center 1255 NE 135th St which has been cited for contributing to two deaths since 1995 The 146-bed Fountainhead Nursing Center 390 NE 135th St also in North Miami cited for restraining patients unnecessarily and for failing to write fundamental plans of care for numerous residents The 120-bed Colonnade Medical Center 3370 NW 47th Ter Lauderdale Lakes cited for allowing residents to decline unnecessarily in health and for failing to provide emergency medical services for a patient The 120-bed IHS of West Broward 7751 Broward Blvd Plantation cited for putting feed Voters took careful aim at handful of incumbents son beyond superior credentials said political scientist Dario Moreno of Florida International University Perez holds a doctorate in education and has children in the public schools he noted Diaz de la Portilla 27 is single and attended private prep schools He became best known as being a member of a politically prominent family and pushing causes popular with religious conservatives many of these elections with the exception of the Morse race the most qualified candidate he said is a healthy turn for the For Max Castro senior research associate at the North-South Center at the University of Miami the results were also encouraging fact that these people were able to mount an effective campaign and win to me is an optimistic Castro said power of incumbency is not so crushing that people with new ideas come in and year-old attorney and political neophyte One reason: Prieguez played his campaign as a referendum on Miami Mayor Joe Carollo a Morse ally who has angered voters in that Little Havana district In two radio attack ads that started last Thursday Prieguez tapped into resentment of the Carollo-supported state Oversight Board overseeing finances The board has pressured Miami into painful fee increases and rate hikes to stabilize city finances One Prieguez flier said: raise our garbage fees our taxes and deny us the right to vote When are we going to stop letting them dictate our Although Morse put out a 24-page magazine with his long legislative record ran a phone bank and visited some voters he failed to pound the sidewalks like Prieguez did or counter the radio attacks fell asleep He take the campaign political consultant Armando Guttierez said the Carollo ad killed him a persona non grata in Little In the Broward state Senate race fallout from the January ouster of state Rep Willie Logan D-Opa-locka from a House leadership post may have tripped up Meadows He was outflanked by Rep Mandy Dawson-White who like Meek in Miami gave up her House seat to take him on Meadows tried to keep peace within the Democratic Party after white House Democrats ousted Logan from the post of speaker designate the first black lawmaker to be in line to lead the House Many black Democrats blamed Gov Lawton Chiles and Lt Gov Buddy Mac-Kay for not stopping that coup Meadows remained a loyal MacKay supporter Dawson-White is not She was backed in her challenge by US Rep Alcee Hastings D-Miramar who had also criticized the governor In the Miami-Dade School Board race between incumbent Renier Diaz de la Portilla and Marta Perez voters went with the challenger for no apparent rea tic problem that spilled into police reports also left him vulnerable in a year when voters are fed up with misbehaving politicians State Rep Rodriguez-Chomat was damaged by a well-publicized fight he started against colleague Carlos Valdes during a floor debate in the recent legislative session an read the ads of his opponent Dade prosecutor Gaston Cantens In the Broward County Commission race veteran Sylvia Poitier alienated voters especially in that vote-rich condos who grew suspicious of her personal financial problems and tight ties to special interests Her demise became certain when the condo leaders scratched her name from palm cards they distributed to voters as they marched to polling places on Tuesday State interference became the issue in House District 113 race Rep Morse suffered a 1 7-point thumping getting dumped from the House seat he held for 14 years by Manuel Prieguez a 27- ELECTION FROM IB county commissioners on the ballot easily turned back multiple challengers and not a single incumbent judge lost a reelection bid And while two incumbent House members from Dade lost five others won their primaries and seem well positioned to win reelection on Nov 3 In Broward the overall situation was nearly as placid among incumbents Not a single sitting judge even drew an opponent and Sen Meadows was alone in drawing a serious legislative challenge But if the overall mood was stand-pat that was anything but the case inside the handful of districts where voters plucked incumbents like weeds from a lawn In the state Senate District 36 race between incumbent Bill Turner and challenger Kendrick Meek alleged ethical lapses may have done him in He admitted to double-dipping on his homestead tax exemption A years-old domes She iHiami Herald presents 1 Invited Speakers include Larry Harrington Deputy Director The Inter-American Development Bank Washington DC Eduardo A Masferrer ChairmanCEO Hamilton Bank NA Miami Miguel Angel Rodriguez President of Costa Rica Jorge Quiroga Vice President of Bolivia AvelinoJ Porto President Universidad de Belgrano Buenos Aires Argentina Octavio Frigerio Ambassador Director White Helmets United Nations Program Washington DC Peter Hakim President Inter-American Dialogue Washington DC This years1 topics to include Economy and Finance in the Americas Investment in the Americas: A Panel Discussion Free Trade of the Americas The Americas: A Congressional Perspective Latin American Social Infrastructure Leadership for the 21st Century and more Biltmore Hotel Coral Gables Florida Peter Romero Acting Assistant Secretary of State Bureau of Inter-American Affairs Washington DC Vicente Fox Governor of Guanajuato and Leading Figure PAN Mexico Hugo Chavez Frias Presidential Candidate Caracas Venezuela Speakers invited but not confirmed PHONE: (305) 376-2112 MAIL: Americas Conference coThe Miami Herald One Herald Plaza Miami FL USA 33132-1693 attn: Zilkia Santos FAX: (305) 376-4913 INTERNET: or note that credit card payment is required for all phone fax and Internet registrations Registration Form Please type or print clearly Id Mr ED Mrs CD Ms Name of Registrant Title CompanyOrganization Address CityState Country Zip Code Telephone Fax E-mail Signature HAMILTON BANKna 4 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