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An Ohio nursing home says residents became defiant after speaking with a state inspector, leading the provider to file a lawsuit.

Regency Manor Rehab and Subacute Center in Columbus sued the Ohio Department of Health on July 31 over alleged improprieties during an inspection earlier in the month.

An inspector said residents of a secure unit were in Immediate Jeopardy, and said caregivers were not respecting the residents’ preferences. Regency contends that the inspector violated state law by telling residents they should not have to take medications or be confined against their will.

Since the survey, residents have tried to flee the unit by scaling a courtyard fence and have refused medications, Regency asserts.

The operator is seeking reimbursement of monetary damages, and a restraining order related to directives coming from the state.

The facility is “caught in the middle,” with the Department of Health contradicting legal guardian decisions as well as court orders related to treatment, Regency attorney Jeffrey W. Van Wagner told McKnight’s.