• Home
  • News
    • Politics & Government
    • Business & Economy
    • Crime / Courts
    • Health / Medicine
  • Sports
    • High School Sports
    • Radio Iowa Poll
  • Affiliates
    • Affiliate Support Page
  • Contact Us
    • Reporters

Radio Iowa

Iowa's Radio News Network

You are here: Home / Agriculture / Men at Atalissa bunkhouse malnourished

Men at Atalissa bunkhouse malnourished

March 17, 2009 By admin

State lawmakers heard more grim news about the plight of the mentally disabled men who were removed from an eastern Iowa boarding house earlier this year. The men who worked at a meatpacking plant in West Liberty and lived in an old schoolhouse in Atalissa are now under state care.

John McCalley, head of a state task force studying the scandal, says it’s now clear the men were malnourished. "One of the group home managers in Waterloo is a retired nurse from Mayo Clinic. and observed immediately that there were some issues with regard to adequate nourishment," McCalley says.

A Texas employment agency collected the men’s wages and their federal disability benefits in return for providing them with the accommodations at a "bunkhouse" in Atalissa. McCalley testified before the Legislative Oversight Committee today and told legislators the men had gone without dental care.

"Many of the individuals had significant dental issues that had been long neglected and those issues are being addressed locally," McCaulley said. "Some of the individuals were deemed malnourished and those issues are being addressed locally." The men are now living in group homes in Waterloo.

McCalley is director of the Iowa Department of Elder Affairs. Governor Culver appointed him to head a task force studying the case. That task force is to issue its recommendations by April 1.

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter

Filed Under: Agriculture, Business, Crime / Courts, Politics / Govt Tagged With: Democratic Party, Employment and Labor, Legislature, Republican Party

Featured Stories

All bodies of missing now recovered from rubble of collapsed Davenport building

Governor signs child care expansion into law

Iowa seniors have until July 1 to apply for new property tax break

Smoke from distant fires creates colorful sunrise in Iowa

DOT’s Motor Vehicle Enforcement Division to merge into State Patrol

TwitterFacebook
Tweets by RadioIowa

Hawkeye women to play Virginia Tech

Radio Iowa/Baseball Coaches Association High School Poll 6/5/23

Iowa eliminated at NCAA regional

Iowa names Beth Goetz interim AD

Cyclone Trio Invited to USA Basketball U19 Training Camp

More Sports

Archives

Copyright © 2023 ยท Learfield News & Ag, LLC