A Gooding nursing home with a history of Medicare/Medicaid licensing problems now is now nationally notorious.

The Gooding Rehabilitation and Living Center is the only Idaho facility to appear on a list of 54 nursing homes that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services say are the worst chronically underperforming nursing homes in the country.

The list, posted Tuesday, represents some of the 128 nursing homes nationwide listed as "special focus facilities" - those that consistently provide a poor quality of care, yet show just enough improvement to pass one facility survey and fail the next, according to information on the federal centers' Web site.

Dan Adamson, president of Northwest Bec-Corp, which manages the facility and four others in south-central Idaho, could not be reached Thursday for comment. But Robert Vande Merwe, executive director of the Idaho Health Care Association, said in a statement that his association opposes the list, which he said is nearly impossible to get off of. The Idaho Health Care Association represents skilled-nursing homes, assisted-living facilities and similar facilities in the state.

"Most people don't get off the list unless they end up closing," said Angie Graves, the association's office manager, adding that every state is required to have one home on the list. "We don't see any value in the list, and it's very unproductive."

The special-focus list has been around for years. But Thursday was the first time any part of the list was made public - a change that only came after lawmakers and advocacy groups pushed for it. States select the facilities from a list submitted by Medicare. Chosen facilities are inspected twice as often until they improve, are granted additional time or are dropped from Medicare or Medicaid.

According to Medicare, about 50 percent of such homes significantly improve their quality of care in 24 to 30 months. About 16 percent are terminated from Medicare and Medicaid.

The listing comes as the Gooding facility is under investigation for the Nov. 11 suicide of a resident, Gerald L. DeCoria, 70, who hanged himself in the center's behavioral health unit after a series of suicide attempts.

An investigation by the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, which conducts inspections for Medicare and Medicaid, is complete and is being examined by state and federal authorities this week, spokeswoman Emily Simnitt said.

Gooding police also investigated, but plan no action.

In the report, the center administrator had no answer for police as to why DeCoria, who had tried to kill himself two weeks prior, was not checked on every 15 minutes, or why center staff violated his "do not revive" order by starting CPR. The report also found that DeCoria had been signed off in the center's paperwork as being asleep between 5 and 6 a.m., even though the officer responded to the center's call at 5:25 a.m.

Nate Poppino can be reached at 735-3237 or npoppino@magicvalley.com.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

A decade under scrutiny: September 1997: Northwest Bec-Corp acquires Gooding nursing home from Sun Rise Health, which had owned it only 10 months. March 2001: The state finds staff wasn't responsible for the death of a 97-year-old woman who fell and cut her head, but home is cited for failing to meet standards of practice and adequate supervision. Summer 2004: The state finds facility failed to supervise a resident who was sexually and physically harassing others; he is later found in another resident's bed. Another resident's leg is infected because staff was slow to assess a wound for treatment. February 2005: Northwest Bec-Corp fires the nursing home's administrator, assistant administrator, behavioral health unit director and a registered nurse. An Idaho Department of Health and Welfare probe finds 37 violations, six involving harm or immediate jeopardy to patients. Two incidents of resident abuse are noted. The state puts the center on a provisional license and charges $250 a day until its problems are fixed. June 2005: After accruing $35,500 in fines over 122 days, the center is once again fully licensed. President Dan Adamson defends his company, pointing out improvements in his industry. September 2006: A resident dies from a urinary-tract infection after a leg amputation. Fire code problems are added to a long list of issues. December 2006: The September 2006 incident places the center back on a one-year provisional license. June 2007: Health and Welfare reports the facility is improving but says it likely would not extend its license if the center is still struggling by the end of the year. Sept. 20, 2007: An investigation finds several violations that include problems with patient care and safety procedures. Nov. 11, 2007: Gerald L. DeCoria, 70, hangs himself with a window blind cord. Health and Welfare and Gooding police investigate. Nov. 21, 2007: Gooding police close their investigation with no charges filed.