CELINA – A trustee has been appointed to run a Celina nursing home where inspectors found "grossly inadequate medical care" and "squalid conditions," the state says.

The Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services inspected the Amberwood Care Center in the 600 block of Ohio Street last week and found a "complete breakdown" at the facility, where 42 people resided.

"The conditions were pretty horrific," said Paco Felici, a spokesman for the Texas attorney general's office, which filed suit after the Aging and Disability Department presented its findings.

Among other things, the investigation found patients suffering from bed ulcers, a tracheotomy tube "coated with crust" and ventilators set at "dangerously high oxygen flow pressures."

James W. Jewel, who owns the facility, could not be reached for comment Tuesday. The Lubbock man has owned Amberwood since 2004. A temporary restraining order issued Friday by a Travis County judge requires Mr. Jewel to refrain from interfering with the oversight of trustee David Crowson.

Mr. Crowson was at the facility Tuesday afternoon but declined to comment about the investigation or his appointment as trustee. Several complaints made to an anonymous hotline sparked the Aging and Disability Services Department's investigation.

An Amberwood employee said that he has never seen anyone abuse patients but that nurses often complain of staff shortages.

Brahnu Sharrew said he has been a certified medication aide at the facility for 18 months. He said employees recently were told to take patients water after many were found to be dehydrated.

"But there's not enough employees," he said.

Mr. Sharrew said there's typically only one nurse on duty during the night shift.

"It's fair to say staffing was an issue, but that was not the only issue in the facility," said Christina Maloof, a spokeswoman for the Aging and Disability Services Department.

The investigation also found an elderly woman who said she endured a painful urinary tract infection for days before she was treated with antibiotics. One man had a days-old catheter inserted into his arm, which put him at risk of a blood infection. There were also not enough bedsheets for patients, and machines that test diabetics' blood sugar levels were improperly calibrated, the investigation found.

Ms. Maloof said Mr. Jewel is the sole shareholder of a parent company that also operates two Wichita Falls nursing homes. A man at one of those centers said another health care company took over in April, and he declined to answer further questions. A woman who answered the phone at the other Wichita Falls facility hung up after Mr. Jewel's name was mentioned.

According to the attorney general's office, the Aging and Disability Department will provide Mr. Crowson with $200,000 to care for or transfer the Amberwood facility's patients. The temporary restraining order also requires Mr. Jewel to repay money spent for the care of the facility's residents.

Mr. Crowson is expected to appear in court next month, present his findings and recommend what action to take next.