DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Former residents at a state-run mental health facility that closed this year are now scattered throughout Iowa, with some living in nursing homes that are considered below average on a federal registry.
The Des Moines Register reports the residents were part of a state program for people with serious mental illnesses. The program was housed at the Iowa Mental Health Institute at Clarinda–the sister facility to the MHI in Mount Pleasant, both of which Gov. Terry Branstad ordered closed, saying they were outdated and inefficient.
Eight residents were transferred to four traditional nursing homes, all of which are rated “below average” or “much below average” on a federal registry. Two of those patients died.
State officials say they went to great lengths to find suitable placements for the former Clarinda patients, and relatives often helped choose the new facilities.
