Whiting nursing home battle mold

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Whiting nursing home battle mold

Some residents moved to other facilities

By Ebaugh Journal staff writer

Sioux City Journal - Sioux City,IA

http://www.siouxcityjournal.com/articles/2006/09/21/news/local/0969ab

f490d2981a862571f0000c2b20.txt

State officials said Wednesday that a mold infestation at the

Pleasant View Care Center in Whiting, Iowa, is the first ever in an

Iowa health care facility.

" We're working under some truly unique circumstances, " said

Werning, spokesman for the Iowa Department of Inspections and

Appeals, which is responsible for inspecting and licensing health-

related businesses. " We have not had any type of situation similar

to this in a nursing home before. "

It is unknown at this point exactly what types of mold are growing

in the building or even where it is located because reports are

still coming in, said Pleasant View administrator Katy . She

said she isn't sure how the " moisture intrusion " -- the introduction

of water that allowed mold to grow -- occurred, nor how long removal

of the mold might take.

" The good news is we took immediate steps to correct the problem, "

said. " We are working with specialists to evaluate the extent

of the moisture intrusion and taking action to develop and implement

corrective measures. "

No Pleasant View residents or staffers have so far had any " health

reactions " to the mold, said.

Pleasant View staffers reported the mold problem in the beginning of

September after they smelled a moldy, musty odor in the building's

air, Werning said. The building was then reviewed by air quality

consultants and environmental health specialists, during which

Werning said " several different types " of mold were found that were

partly introduced through water seepage into the building's

foundation.

" It appears mold has been introduced throughout a great portion of

the facility, if not the entire building, " Werning said. " It was

starting to migrate through the building a bit, but we don't know

how widespread it is at this point. "

It was spotted behind some baseboards in the building's walls, he

said.

However, the danger to residents so far has been determined to be

minimal. When the nursing home asked its patients' family physicians

to evaluate their susceptibility to mold reaction, about a dozen

patients in the 96-bed facility were identified as having

possible " environmental sensitivities, " said.

Those patients are in the process of being temporarily relocated to

other area nursing facilities until the mold can be completely

removed, and said her facility is providing relocation

services free of charge to them.

" The residents who are being relocated, it's only being done as a

precautionary measure, " she said. " They will return to Pleasant

View ... this is their home.

Werning said the inspections department has been in contact with

Pleasant View almost daily on the issue.

" Our concern is for the health, safety and welfare of the residents

since they are older, but they seem to be handling it with all the

care necessary, " he said. " They've been doing everything just about

perfect ... we're learning how to handle this right along with them. "

Among those working on the mold removal are certified industrial

hygienist Dr. Finn of West Des Moines to assess environmental

health issues, an architect to review what modifications and

renovations need to be done to rid the building of mold and a

Nebraska mold remediation firm to clean it up, Werning said.

Pleasant View Care Center is located on the outskirts of Whiting and

is a major employer in that town.

Staff writer Ebaugh can be reached at (712) 293-4219 or

aliciaebaugh@...