Former administrator facing charges for locking out a resident who chose to leave nursing home

by Jessica R. Towhey

The former administrator of an Iowa nursing home is facing charges from the state licensing board for allegedly locking a resident out of the facility overnight after the resident chose to leave. Charges include professional incompetence and negligence.

Scott Morton, the former administrator at Dubuque Specialty Care in Dubuque, IA, is accused of leaving a resident on the sidewalk outside of the facility for 11 hours overnight on June 22, 2022, after the man reportedly told staff that he wished to leave the facility, according to local news reports. 

The patient allegedly was upset about a new policy that prohibited resident smoking. After telling staff he was “getting the hell out of here,” he was asked to sign discharge papers that expressed he was leaving against medical advice and that he would not be allowed to return to the nursing home.

The patient reportedly went to the end of the facility’s driveway at 5 p.m. to wait for a ride, but eventually moved his wheelchair to the sidewalk across the street and stayed there until 4 a.m. until finally calling for a taxi. The Telegraph Herald reported that the man fell and soiled himself when he tried to get into the vehicle. The taxi driver called for an ambulance, which took to a hospital where he was given pain medicine and discharged. Local reporting said the man went to a hotel for a few days before returning to the hospital after feeling weak. 

State inspectors interviewed the resident, Morton, and several staff members and found that the facility did not provide the patient with food, his medicine, including insulin, treatments or transfer assistance during the 11 hours he was outside. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services fined the facility $131,640 over the incident.

Restrictive smoking policies have led to major conflicts before, with one Tennessee nursing home facing a stop on admissions after it sought to expel a resident who refused to stop smoking. More recently, CMS officials have warned providers not to violate residents’ rights in searching for cigarettes or other contraband.

A woman who answered the phone on Monday at Dubuque Specialty Care referred McKnights to the corporate headquarters for Care Initiatives, which did not respond to a further email request for comment. 

Morton’s hearing in front of the Iowa Board of Nursing Home Administrators is scheduled for May 23. He is charged with professional incompetence; negligence in the practice of the profession; and violating unspecified regulations, rules or laws related to the practice of nursing home administrators. The Telegraph Herald reported that it was “not known” if Morton was working in another Iowa nursing home.

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Former administrator facing charges for locking out a resident who chose to leave nursing home