The action taken against the residential care facility this week comes after a routine relicensing survey where the state found several violations.
“Our safety oversight and quality unit determined that there were 10 different violations of licensing rules that were identified,” Tom Peine, Communications Officer for Oregon DHS says.
The issues range from service plan and abuse reporting to staffing requirements and training.
A former employee of the facility, says the action isn’t surprising.
“Those residents,” Angela Barney says, “they need a lot more care than what they were able to provide.”
Barney says poor management and a lack of training were most apparent to her.
“A lot of the staff had it in their heart to take care of these alzheimer’s dementia patients,” Barney says, “but I think a lot of them could have used more training and I don’t think management was looking at that.”
DHS says training is one of the conditions put in place. And while they say it’s uncommon for facilities to have restrictions put in place, it does happen. DHS’ goal is to fix it.
“It is certainly unusual,” Peine says, “the vast number of providers that we deal with are doing a really good job and it is our intention to cooperate with them, bring them back into compliance and to provide the best care and service possible for the residents who live there.”
A representative for Fern Gardens says they took over management last year. They acknowledge the facility has had a history of challenges. In a statement sent to NBC5 News they say; “We agree that we have not met Ridgeline’s high standards yet which is why on March 15th we put a voluntary hold on admissions. We are working on taking care of all issues that we and the state have identified to bring us in full compliance. “
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