Ogden nursing home ranked among country's worst

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Courtney Orton reporting A nursing home in Ogden ranks among the worst in the country.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid released the list for the first time ever after looking at the three year histories of nursing homes across the country. Mt. Ogden Health and Rehabilitation is on the list.

Included in Mt. Ogden's three-year history is the drowning of a patient who was left unattended in a pool and the death of another patient living in the facility. State inspectors also cited Mt. Ogden for not reporting an allegation of abuse and not informing a patient's doctor of a change in their mental condition.

It's important to note that all of the incidents that led to Mt. Ogden's placement on the list happened in 2005 and 2006, before the current ownership purchased the facility. Those incidents, however, were enough to require "special focus" by the Utah Department of Health.

"Looking back over their past three years of surveys they've had some deficiencies that we've identified as being a little bit more severe," explained Tom Hudachko, of the Utah Department of Health.

Eyewitness News talked with Mt. Ogden's administrator, Sam Hickcox, this afternoon. He didn't want to talk on camera but said over the phone that since July 2006, when the current ownership took over, they've focused on improving care and patient satisfaction. He also told us the facility has been remodeled, and management and nursing staffs have changed.

State health inspectors will now visit Mt. Ogden twice a year instead of just once a year.

Health department officials say Mt. Ogden had no major deficiencies in the last inspection. To get off the list Mt. Ogden will have to keep that up.