A6
THE ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, AUGUST 16, 2022
Avamere: ‘Making good progress’ Schoolhouse:
Continued from Page A1
identifi ed and communi-
cated to staff , and monitored
at least weekly,” the sur-
vey said. The staff had dis-
cussed “possible interven-
tions, such as a nutritional
supplement,” but “none had
been implemented,” the sur-
vey said.
Another resident had an
open pressure wound on a
buttock. A pressure wound
is one, such as a bedsore,
that can erupt after staying in
place for long periods.
Although the survey
noted that a dressing was
used, the facility could not
show that “the wounds were
monitored, at least weekly,
to determine eff ectiveness of
interventions.”
This same resident expe-
rienced four falls within a
month. The facility could not
show it had investigated the
unwitnessed incidents to rule
out abuse or neglect, or that
it had “reviewed the (resi-
dent’s) service plan to see
if it was being followed …
to prevent further falls,” the
survey said.
The survey noted gaps
and lapses in how medication
was documented, includ-
ing physicians’ orders. For
sampled residents, the facil-
ity “failed to ensure orders
were carried out as pre-
scribed for all medications
administered.”
The medication admin-
istration records for a resi-
dent on multiple medications
“lacked clear parameters on
when to administer one ver-
sus the other and in what
order,” the survey said. The
same was true of another res-
ident’s records.
While the survey was
underway, Avamere did not
off er consistent recreational
and group activities to keep
residents mentally, physi-
cally and socially engaged.
“Residents were observed
sitting in common areas for
long periods of time watch-
ing television, people-watch-
ing or remained in their
rooms,” the survey said.
Avamere at Seaside
A state survey of Avamere at Seaside in late June found
failures to follow state rules.
“Multiple residents were
observed pacing the halls
frequently without being
engaged in any individual or
group activities.”
A handful of activities —
such as chair exercises, brain
boosters, chair volleyball,
music and movement, color-
ing craft and gardening club
— had been scheduled, then
not off ered, the survey says.
A staff member told the
state that Avamere’s life
enrichment director and
activity aide were on vaca-
tion. In their absence, no
plans were made to continue
activities, according to the
survey.
A couple of residents
“were observed pacing the
halls and made comments
including, ‘There’s nothing
to do,’ ‘I don’t know what we
can be doing now’ and ‘I’d
like to go out of here to do
things.’”
Avamere employees said
that staff turnover over sev-
eral months led to “extended
periods of time without life
enrichment staff ,” the survey
said.
The survey said that the
living environment and
kitchen areas were not kept
clean or in good repair.
In areas of the main
kitchen and kitchenette the
survey found “ b lack matter,
debris, grease, food matter
and dirt buildup.”
The survey noted gouges
in walls, piles of dirt and
debris in various places.
Walls and doors, from com-
mon areas to rooms, had
scrapes and chipped or peel-
ing paint. “A hallway near
the dining room had eight
screws protruding from the
wall,” the survey said. Multi-
ple windowsills had chipped
paint and collections of dead
bugs.
“Pervasive urine odors
were noted in halls and com-
mon areas during the sur-
vey,” the survey said.
Some residents’ service
plans did not refl ect their cur-
rent needs or give clear direc-
tion to staff , the survey said.
The service plan of one
resident, who “had not been
out of bed for ‘about’ two
months,” did not inform staff
about how the person should
be cared for regarding the
person’s status, involvement
in activities, bathing and toi-
leting, falls, dining routine,
weight monitoring and other
needs, the survey said.
The facility also had trou-
ble coordinating the res-
ident’s care with outside
providers.
An outside provider had
placed the resident on palli-
ative care. The provider had
visited the facility to instruct
Avamere’s care staff in “bed
mobility and transfer training
… including using a transfer
board” for this resident.
“There was no docu-
mented evidence the facility
updated the resident’s service
plan with these instructions
or communicated the bed
mobility and transfer instruc-
tions to all direct care staff ,”
the survey said. In addition,
“t here was no documentation
of the outside provider visits
and recommendations with
care instructions for pallia-
tive care.”
When a specialist created
a behavior support plan for
a resident displaying behav-
iors — including physical
altercations, disrobing and
elopement attempts — that
negatively impacted other
residents, Avamere did not
incorporate the support plan
into the resident’s service
plan, the survey said.
Guidance
The survey also found
other issues.
For example, Avamere
was not up to speed on visita-
tion guidance for care homes
in the post-public emergency
phase of the pandemic. Res-
idents were not allowed to
meet freely with their visi-
tors. In at least one case, a
visitor was escorted out of
the building.
Fire drills were not con-
ducted every other month
as required by the state fi re
c ode, and fi re life safety
instruction was not given to
staff with the required regu-
larity, the survey said.
Avamere could also not
show that residents had
received fi re and life safety
training within a day of mov-
ing in, or that the re training
was happening at least annu-
ally, per the state fi re code.
Elisa Williams, a com-
munications manager at
the D epartment of Human
Services, said in an email:
“Reports provided by the RN
consultant indicate the facil-
ity is making good progress
on addressing issues to be
resolved.”
‘We started on a
shoestring and we
are still desperately
looking for funds’
Continued from Page A1
The schoolhouse, which
neighbors the fi re district’s
station, was deeded to the
fi re department in 1991.
But the structure, which
was built in 1930, accord-
ing to Clatsop County
records, is in need of major
upkeep and repair work.
The nonprofi t and
volunteers who pitched
in have already imple-
mented a new septic sys-
tem and demolished a
poorly built section of the
building, but more work
needs to be done. The
group is eyeing a paint
job, insulation and a new
roof and siding.
F or the building to
function as an eff ective
emergency shelter, it will
also need electric rewir-
ing and a heating system,
which will come with
substantial cost. Raising
money has been an uphill
challenge .
“We started on a shoe-
string and we are still
desperately looking for
funds,” Benson said.
Benson, a former vol-
unteer fi refi ghter in the
rural district for two
decades , has taken over
grant writing for the non-
profi t, which has seen
some success. A commu-
nity garage sale and a bot-
tle drive have also pro-
vided fi nancial assistance.
The structure was at
one point used by the
Seaside School District
and is believed to be the
second schoolhouse at the
location, but Benson is
unsure when it changed
uses. After contacting
several museums and his-
torical groups and com-
ing up short, Benson is in
search of any information
or old photographs of the
schoolhouse.
Once the building is
restored, Benson said, the
group will shift focus to
emergency preparedness
and disaster relief. They
plan to store ready-to-eat
meals, tents, blankets and
other resources.
Whether hosting a
movie night, provid-
ing a warm space during
a power outage or giv-
ing assistance during the
“ B ig O ne,” Benson sees
the schoolhouse fi lling an
essential need.
“We honestly expect,
with the Cascadia earth-
quake, there are going to
be people on foot trying
to get back to Portland,
and that is going to be the
fi rst stop,” he said.
facebook.com/
DailyAstorian
DEL’S O.K. TIRE
Lydia Ely/The Astorian
People are encouraged to fi nd higher ground after a tsunami threat.
Cascadia: ‘The coast is vulnerable’
Continued from Page A1
Subduction Zone in the next
50 years.
The research, led by e ngi-
neering doctoral student
Dylan Sanderson, examined
factors such as the shaking
ground from the earthquake,
tsunami inundation depth
and distances to airports and
maintenance facilities.
Researchers
identifi ed
disparities in recoveries for
coastal communities and
determined that additional
work is needed to solve these
issues.
Communities that had fast
regional recoveries under the
model had access to roads
that were identifi ed as higher
priority for repair, while
communities that recovered
quickly on the local level
had access to maintenance
facilities.
Because Oregon Depart-
ment of Transportation repair
facilities are mostly located
along the Willamette V al-
ley and Interstate 5 corridor,
researchers said an increase
of available maintenance sta-
tions on the coast could ben-
efi t more rural communities
in their recovery process.
Regional recovery must
be considered alongside
local recovery, the research-
ers also found. Without
doing so, commonly used
models may be severely
underpredicting
recovery
time from a major disaster,
Cox said.
In comparing results to
other studies that only con-
sidered the local network,
the recovery time for a sin-
gle community was shown
to be four times longer than
previously estimated, Sand-
erson said in a statement.
“If we use these models,
we have to use them care-
fully, so that we can plan
accordingly,” Cox said. “Our
research is showing that we
have to be really careful
with using some of these
other types of tools with
their default values that were
set up primarily for smaller
events.
“Say for example, an
earthquake in Knappa – that
might just be a really iso-
lated area that doesn’t con-
sider a huge swath the way
that Cascadia really is going
to aff ect our coastline.”
But challenges for com-
munities ultimately vary
based on geography and
connections, Cox said.
Cox and his team have
held several listening ses-
sions on the coast and hope
to host more discussions in
the future.
They have also held
meetings with county lead-
ers and emergency planners.
Cox commended Tiff any
Brown, Clatsop County’s
emergency manager, for her
advocacy and preparation on
the subject.
“The coast is vulnera-
ble to the Cascadia threat
in a way that inland part-
ners aren’t, which is to say
that we will have a tsunami,
where the bigger, more urban
partners won’t,” Brown said .
“What would add insult to
injury with that is that we
are then isolated and we will
spend a greater amount of
time also, in theory, than our
inland partners waiting for
assistance.”
Brown emphasized the
importance of understanding
the threat and knowing how
to respond.
The researchers hope to
bring their results to commu-
nities soon.
“This is something (the
communities) are really
interested in knowing more
about,” Cox said.
Del Thompson, former owner of
OK Rubber Welders.
Klyde Thompson, current owner
Mike Barnett, manager
YOUR #1
SOURCE
FOR TIRES
CUSTOM WHEELS
AUTOMOTIVE SERVICES
Over 74 years of the Thompson
family putting you first!
(503) 325-2861
35359 Business 101, Astoria
MON - FRI 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
SAT 8:00 AM - 4:00 PM
pointstire.com/astoria