The state agency that inspects Iowa nursing homes has eliminated two of the four prosecutors who respond to allegations of abuse in care facilities.
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The abuse unit was established six years ago in response to growing complaints that Iowa seniors were being subjected to abuse in care facilities. The complaints involved physical assaults, verbal abuse, financial exploitation and other violations of Iowa's Dependent-Adult Abuse Law.
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After investigating those complaints, the unit determined there were 243 founded complaints in 2009 - an increase of 18 percent from the previous year.
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Dean Lerner, who was fired as the head of the inspections department by Gov. Terry Branstad, said the cuts were driven by "blind ideological dogma" and were indicative of the Branstad administration's "misplaced priorities."
Branstad has said that under Lerner the inspections department was too punitive in its dealings with the nursing home industry. He has called for a collaborative, cooperative approach to the enforcement of state and federal laws that apply to nursing homes.
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20110307/NEWS10/103070317/2-of-4-attorneys-in-care-center-abuse-unit-laid-off?www