Nursing home to pay fine after beating death

The home did not appeal the ruling and was granted a reduction.
TOLEDO (AP) -- A nursing home has agreed to pay a fine of about $60,000 and correct problems found by the state after the death of a patient who was beaten with a bathroom towel bar.
Correcting the problems means the Foundation Park Care Center can receive payments for new patients under the Medicare and Medicaid government health insurance programs. The Ohio Department of Health recommended the nursing home lose those payments in May after filing an inspection report that said the man accused in the death hit two other residents in January and February.
Norbert Konwin, 77, died at the center in March, 10 days after he was beaten. Sharon John Hawkins, 62, Konwin's roommate, has been found incompetent to stand trial in the death and a judge has ordered him to receive treatment.
The nursing home did not tell police or the health department about the attack even though it was required to.
The department approved the nursing home's plan to correct deficiencies found after the attack, which ranged from abuse to housekeeping problems. The plan includes adding more monitoring staff and reassessing residents with the potential for aggressive behavior.
Employees also received training on how to handle aggressive residents and on reporting and investigating abuse and neglect.
Fine
The nursing home now will submit a proposal on how it plans to pay the fine, which was reduced from the health department's recommendation of $91,800 because it did not appeal, said Bob Herskovitz, spokesman for the federal agency that oversees Medicare and Medicaid.
The nursing home decided to accept the discount in part because the cost to appeal could be higher, said Eric Valuckas, the nursing home's administrator.