Thursday, January 23, 2025
Vol. 160, Issue 4 www.decorahleader.com
Decorah, Iowa 52101 email: editor@decorahleader.com
One Section phone: 563-382-4221
Aase Haugen Home in Decorah was recently cited by state inspectors following the death of a resident in November of 2024. Staff there said they addressed the state’s concerns quickly, and state officials lowered the senior care facility’s “jeopardy status” soon after visiting Aase Haugen last month. (Photo by Seth Boyes)
State inspectors cite Aase Haugen Home following resident’s death Staff says issues were addressed quickly BY SETH BOYES, DECORAH LEADER, & CLARK KAUFFMAN, IOWA CAPITAL DISPATCH Aase Haugen Home in Decorah was recently cited after state officials investigated the death of a resident in November of 2024, but staff at the senior care facility said state inspectors were satisfied Aase Haugen had addressed the allegations soon after visiting the facility last month. “This incident doesn’t define the organization or the mission or how we’re going to move forward,” said Rex Nelson,
director of operations at Aase Haugen. “It is a tough situation, but we’ve got hundreds of shining examples that would speak to the trajectory that the company’s actually on.” Officials with the Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals and Licensing said a male resident of Aase Haugen died in early November of 2024. Nelson was unable to provide specific details due to legal privacy restrictions, but he noted the state’s report spans approximately three weeks, which Nelson indicated may only provide a limited view into the resident’s overall condition while at Aase Haugen.
Editor’s note: This report was written using information from an earlier article authored by Clark Kauffman of the Iowa Capital Dispatch. Kauffman’s original article detailed citations issued to five care facilities across the state. The Decorah Leader chose to edit the original article to focus on Aase Haugen Home in Decorah and staff sought additional comment from officials at Aase Haugen before local publication. The original article can be viewed by visiting: iowacapitaldispatch.com/2025/01/14/iowacare-facilities-recently-cited-for-death-abuse-and-neglect/
The citation against Aase Haugen specified the man experienced “significant dementia” and had a “history of hip fracture and hospitalization.” The man’s right hip was replaced in 2022, according to state investigators, and he underwent surgery to repair his right femur on Oct. 11, 2024. State investigators said providers reported the man’s “mental state has not been the same since he was hospitalized for his femur fracture.” Nelson, though not referring specifically to the deceased resident, said surgical anesthesia can sometimes decrease cognitive function among elderly individuals, adding that in some case it cannot be restored through therapy. Nelson added the state’s recent investigation largely focused on a lack of documentation establishing whether staff conducted follow-up assessments of the resident or notified his primary care physician after observing changes in his health.
“How it was portrayed would have been much different if the documentation accurately reflected the knowledge that all of these nurses on all of these days and all of these shifts that were taking care of him shared with myself and each other,” Nelson said. State inspectors allege that approximately a week after the man was discharged following surgery on his femur, he showed signs of increased blood pressure, an elevated pulse and a fever. On Oct. 21, 2024, a nurse noticed “a moderate amount” of drainage on the man’s sweatpants along the incision site, according to the state’s citation, and he developed a fever by the next morning – which state investigators said the staff treated. He was reported to be lethargic that afternoon, at which point
Aase Haugen continued on page 3
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RSV, norovirus among top concerns for area medical professionals this season BY ZACH JENSEN STAFF WRITER It’s respiratory illness season again, and area medical professionals are reminding the public to take precautions to reduce the spread of potentially lethal viruses. WinnMed’s Dr. Andy Goodner said the local hospital has seen increased cases of respiratory syncytial virus — or RSV — and influenza in recent weeks. RSV often spreads during winter “RSV has been rampant,” Goodner said. “It cycles every winter, and everybody can get RSV. In older kids and adults, it’s mostly a cold, but babies have small airways, so they get into trouble with it with low oxygen. When they can’t breathe well, they also don’t eat well, because it takes a lot of work to eat from breast or bottle. So, they can get dehydrated, they get low on oxygen, and we need to hospitalize them.” RSV is a common respiratory virus that infects the nose, throat and lungs, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. “RSV symptoms make it difficult to distinguish it from the common cold or other respiratory viruses, like the flu or COVID-19,” the CDC says. Goodner said that, at one point this season, as many as
Dr. Andy Goodner five infants were locally hospitalized with RSV at once, and treatment options are limited. “There’s no great treatment for it, because it’s a virus,” said Goodner. “There’s no fix. You have to wait it out, so we often have to give infants oxygen and/or fluids while they’re recovering. Older adults can also get RSV, and it can be serious in them as well.” The good news, the family doctor said, is that an RSV vaccine was approved for public use in 2023. The vaccine is specifically intended to help lower the chance of contracting RSV occurring in babies, pregnant women and older adults. “Older Americans, babies in their first year and pregnant women at 32 and 34 weeks should be vaccinated for RSV,” Goodner said. “RSV
RSV, norovirus continued on page 8
Decorah Schools awaiting specifics after nationwide data breach Visit us online - www.decorahnewspapers.com BY SETH BOYES NEWS EDITOR
Officials with the Decorah Community Schools informed families last week the district was one of many affected by a global cybersecurity incident involving an online platform used by many K-12 schools in the U.S. Decorah Superintendent Tim Cronin released a letter dated Jan. 15, saying PowerSchool — which provides a program Decorah Schools uses to manage
Decorah City Council members Randy Schissel and Cody Whittle considered potential design elements of the city’s proposed sports complex. (Photo by Denise Lana)
student information, such as grades, attendance and schedules — had identified unauthorized access to its systems last month. “This breach is part of a larger incident affecting multiple school districts nationwide, including DCSD,” Cronin said in last week’s letter to families. “Please note, this event happened entirely within PowerSchool’s environment, and the district’s systems remain secure.” Cronin’s letter indicated the
initial breach of PowerSchool’s systems may have taken place as early as Dec. 22, 2024, and a timeline published on PowerSchool’s website said the company became aware on Dec. 28, 2024, of “a cybersecurity incident involving unauthorized exportation of personal information” from its information systems through a customer support portal. “As soon as we learned of the incident, we immediately engaged our cybersecurity response protocols and mobilized
a cross-functional response team, including senior leadership and third-party cybersecurity experts,” PowerSchool said on its website. “Since then, over the last few weeks, we have been focused on assessing the scope of data involved, making further enhancements to our cybersecurity defenses, and developing a plan to help you and our shared community.”
Data breach continued on page 8
Design of proposed Decorah sports complex one step closer to finalization BY DENISE LANA STAFF WRITER City officials met last week with project consultants from engineering firm ISG, which is overseeing Decorah’s proposed sports facility to begin finalizing details for the park. The project is due to break ground soon on a 30-acre property located near the city dog park on Old Stage Road. Installation of the facility will take place in multiple phases, with phase one scheduled to
start in the next few months. As part of the first phase, two ballfields, four pickleball courts and two batting cages will be installed, along with a 100-stall parking lot and a portable restroom enclosure. The projected cost for the three-month design, permitting and bidding, and construction of phase one is around $2.5 million, according to Decorah City Manager Travis Goedken. Nathan Hermer, civil engineer and project lead, as well as landscape designer Kenzie
Johnson joined city council, staff and members of the Decorah Parks and Recreation Board on Jan. 14 to finalize details of the project’s first phase. A Water Quality Initiative grant application for flood mitigation was submitted recently, and Hermer told the group he anticipated it would be finalized for funding in the next week or two. A stormwater
Sports complex continued on page 5