Clarification April 22, 2010 — The Linda Ross quoted in the story below about the Village Vista Manor nursing home is not Linda Sue Ross, who lives in Manheim Township.

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State and federal authorities have shut down a Manor Township nursing home and relocated about 30 residents because of problems with the quality of care and the facilities.

Village Vista Manor, 1941 Benmar Drive, closed Monday, when its last resident left, a state official said.

The Manor Township home was owned by Antonino Genoese of Conestoga, according to state records.

Genoese did not immediately return several calls for comment about the shutdown.

Reached at the home Wednesday, Elisa Fulmer, Village Vista's administrator, said, "At this time, we have no comment. It is what it is."

The U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services decided to terminate its relationship with the home in early April, said Stacy Kriedeman, state health department spokeswoman. That meant the home could no longer care for Medicare or Medicaid patients.

The state put the home on a provisional license April 9 and then moved to revoke its license six days later, Kriedeman said.

Over the past year, state inspectors found numerous problems at the home relating to everything from patient care to the upkeep of the facility, according to state records.

In each case, the state directed the home to make changes to address the problems.

Inspectors found the water temperature for bathing was too hot, then too cold, according to reports.

A resident told inspectors, "The water temperature has been ice cold for weeks, this is why I'm sick, they are washing me in cold water, they are sometimes warming it up in the microwave," according to one report.

The home also failed to investigate allegations of neglect and abuse, according to a report.

A review of documentation by a social worker revealed "that a nurse aide came to (a) resident's room and told the resident that the person rang the call bell too much," an inspection found.

Another resident's family reported "that one staff member had given the resident a hard time about going to the bathroom."

Residents had bruises that were not investigated, reports also found.

The home failed to provide ongoing activities for residents, inspectors found. When asked, nine alert residents could recall no activities other than tossing a ball.

Over two days, inspectors saw one resident lying in bed, aimlessly wandering in a wheelchair or repeatedly pulling on the exit doors of the home.

Another resident, who had told the home's staff he would be interested in listening to music or reading, simply sat in a chair by his bed.

"He stated he sometimes gets bored but he sings to himself and prays," according to the inspection.

The home also had problems with food preparation.

The home operated without a dietitian for several years, an inspection found. Staff told an inspector last year that the oven had not heated properly for several months. An inspector found it was set for 500 degrees, but only registered 200 degrees.

Staff also did not follow doctor's orders to feed residents a supplement to assist them in the healing of wounds.

The home also did not have call bells on all residents or enough pagers for nurses, inspectors found.

Showering and tub rooms had no system for staff to summon help if they had a problem. One employee told inspectors that when a resident fell, she would "scream for help" until other staff were alerted. Another used her personal cell phone to text-message another staff person if she needed help.

The staff did not investigate residents' falls or try to prevent further falls, inspections found. Residents repeatedly fell and slid off of wheelchairs and beds.

One resident told inspectors he had fallen off a shower chair so many times he was afraid to take a shower.

The daughter of a former Village Vista resident said she believed the home provided good care to her father and her late mother.

"The facility is older but I didn't care because I knew my dad was taken care of and my mom had been taken care of," said Linda Ross, of Lancaster.

When Village Vista closed, her father moved to another home. However, he would go back to Village Vista if it reopened, she said.

"I'm not sure what is going on," she said. "We are all devastated."

cstauffer@lnpnews.com