WATERLOO - Black Hawk County has agreed to pay a fine for problems cited by state and federal inspectors at the Country View nursing home.

Members of the county Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to pay the $6,370 penalty rather than plead hardship with the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The fine was already reduced by 35 percent from the original amount.

"We just want to pay it and be done with it and move on," said James Bronner, the county's finance director and a member of the board overseeing Country View's operations.

The state levied $3,500 in fines following a December visit to the facility owned and operated by Black Hawk County at 1410 W. Dunkerton Road. A follow-up inspection Jan. 23 led to a $200 daily fine.

Country View Administrator Jack Musker said deficiencies cited in the inspection reports have been resolved and the daily fines were canceled after about five weeks. Country View has initiated quality assurance reviews and taken other steps to avoid similar problems in the future.

The initial survey cited failure to provide proper care for pressure sores to some of the 122 residents at Country View's nursing facility and problems with the times medications were administered. The follow-up survey found other problems, including poor housekeeping, some wheelchairs not being in good repair and the failure by staff to follow protocol for feeding some residents and cleaning those who suffered from incontinence.

While board chairman Frank Magsamen said the county takes the issues seriously, supervisors Craig White and John Miller lashed out at what they felt to be excessive punishment.

"At no time were any of the residents in any kind of danger at any time," Miller said. "The bureaucracy becomes punitive at a time when we're all struggling to keep costs down. I resent that."

The county took over management of Country View 18 months ago after it had been managed under contract by Ankeny-based Continuum Health Care Services for more than a decade. Country View had problems with state fines in the early 1990s; despite being cited for some deficiencies, it avoided penalties during Continuum's tenure.