Grand Marais nursing home worker cited for abuse

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A nursing assistant at a Grand Marais nursing home was cited for abuse for pulling two residents by the arms and speaking to one in a “disrespectful manner,” according to a state report made public on Wednesday.

The facility, Cook County North Shore Hospital and Care Center, was cited for procedural failings in relation to the incident, according to public records from the Minnesota Department of Health.

The employee, who

wasn’t named, was suspended during an internal investigation that began June 2; she later was fired due to “lack of respect” for residents, the report said. An unannounced follow-up visit on Nov. 17 determined the facility had corrected its deficiencies, it added.

Kimber Wraalstad, the facilities administrator, said no criminal charges resulted from the incident.

According to the report:

An employee said that on May 28 the nursing assistant “lifted/dragged” a resident into his wheelchair, and the nursing assistant’s demeanor was “loud and rough.” On May 29, the same witness said she answered another resident’s call light and a female resident was “shaking from head to foot — angry looking and trapped” after being given a shower by the nursing assistant.

When interviewed by special investigator Jaime Greeninger, the witness also said she observed a pile of “sopping wet” clothes on the shower room floor and saw a “look of horror” on the resident’s face as the nursing assistant was putting dry clothes on her. The witness said she also saw the nursing assistant pull the resident into bed by her right wrist. A bruise developed on the wrist within 30 to 45 minutes, the report said.

The nursing assistant told Greeninger the resident resisted personal care, and that she gave her the shower while she was partially clothed because it “needed to be done.”

The facility was cited for procedural failings related to the incident, including a delay in reporting the allegations to the state.

Another employee of the same facility was fired last year and charged with five felony counts after being caught removing fentanyl patches from two residents for her own use. Cook County North Shore Hospital and Care Center wasn’t faulted in its handling of that case.

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