Second Ky. nursing home cited for improper cell phone use by staff

By Valarie Honeycutt Spears - vhoneycutt@herald-leader.com

A second Kentucky nursing home has been cited by state officials for alleged improper use of cell phones by the staff.

Beth Fisher, a spokeswoman for the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, identified the home as Dawson Pointe in Dawson Springs.

The citation at Dawson Pointe follows another nursing home investigation in which Bluegrass Care and Rehabilitation in Lexington was cited when investigators found that staff attached sexually explicit lyrics to photos of residents and sent them as text messages to other employees.

At Dawson Pointe, administrator Margaret Curtis said facility officials are cooperating with a law enforcement investigation.

"We were totally appalled," Curtis said. "We took immediate action to protect residents."

Curtis declined to provide details about the incident at her facility, saying she was not the administrator when the violation occurred.

Fisher said additional details were not immediately available Thursday.

Dawson Pointe also is known as Dawson Springs Health and Rehabilitation.

As a result of the two incidents, Cabinet officials are asking Kentucky long-term care facilities to prevent such cell phone use in the future.

Reach Valarie Honeycutt Spears at (859) 231-3409 or 1-800-950-6397, ext. 3409.

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