Information & Ratings on Levering Regional Health Care Center (Violations)

When you and your family commit your loved one to the care of a skilled nursing facility, there is a certain minimum level of care that you should expect from that home. You expect that your family member will remain safe and that they will receive careful supervision from the nursing home where they reside. If that fails to occur, you may have grounds for a legal action against the facility. However, filing a claim against a nursing home is not easy. In order to file the most effective legal action should it be necessary, you need to have an aggressive and experienced attorney on your side.

The Levering Regional Health Care Center is a large facility that has 179 certified beds. It provides long-stay skilled nursing services to resident of Hannibal, MO and Northeastern, MO. It participates in both the Medicare and Medicaid programs. It has for-profit ownership and is located at:

1734 Market St 
Hannibal, MO 63401
(573) 221-2930
URL: Levering Regional Health Care Center

The federal government and the State of Missouri each have regulatory responsibilities when it comes to overseeing nursing homes. Since the federal government is the steward of Medicare, it can prescribe regulations that nursing homes must follow. If these regulations are not complied with, a nursing home will face various penalties which can include a refusal on the part of Medicare to pay the expenses of new residents of the facility. The state may also impose its own monetary penalties on a nursing home.

The Levering Regional Care Center has had a long history of incidents at the facility that call into question the quality of care at the facility. In addition to federal inspection reports and state notices of violations, there have been other legal incidents and injuries that are cause for concern. It should be noted that the federal inspection reports have given improving scores to this facility in recent years. 

In the earlier part of this century, this facility was found civilly liable for the wrongful death of a resident. The decedent had suffered from Alzheimer's and was left unattended in the dining hall and hit their head. There was no record of a neurological assessment performed on the patient as is required at certain intervals after a fall, and the resident later died of her injuries.

This facility received a Notice of Noncompliance from the State of Missouri in December 2016. A resident was hospitalized and later died because they fell out of a third story window. The incident was reported as an intentional action. The letter from the state related that the resident pried open a window and used a cable to lower themselves to the ground from their window. While descending, the cable snapped and the resident sustained fatal injuries. The home had failed to execute a proper search for contraband in the resident's room even though the resident was deemed to be an elopement risk. The violation was originally issued as a Class I violation, which is the most serious type. Although it was lowered to a Class II violation, the facility still was subject to a Class I monetary penalty. 

While the Levering Regional Health Care Center has had some improving ratings, it has still received a one star rating from Medicare in the area of staffing. The home did not submit the proper documentation for Medicare to assess its staffing levels. Thus, there is nothing that can give residents' families confidence at the current time that the facility has the proper amount of staffing to attend to residents. In addition, the home has several metrics that reflect negatively on the quality of care at the facility. The rate of residents that have experienced a pressure ulcer while at the facility is more than three times the national average. Pressure ulcers can often be prevented with the proper level care and continuously shifting the resident to avoid skin problems.

This home did receive a payment denial from Medicare in February 2016. Payment denials occur when there are serious violations that remain uncorrected for a certain period of time. There was a complaint investigation that predicated the payment denial. Among other things, this investigation resulted in a citation because a staff member was not immediately removed from the facility when there was an allegation of rape made against that member. Regardless of whether the allegation was substantiated, the staff member should have immediately been removed from the premises as opposed to being allowed to finish their shift and come to work the next day.

If you feel that you may be in a position where legal action against a nursing home is necessary, the attorneys at the Nursing Home Law Center can help you. Call us today at (800) 726-9565 so we can discuss the facts of your case with you and let you know if filing a claim against the nursing home is a viable option. It is always free to discuss your case with us and you do not owe us any money unless we can help you receive a financial recovery in your case.

Sources:

• Miller v. Levering Regional Health Care Center LLC LLC
• Levering Regional Health Center resident transported to hospital after fall from 3rd story
• December 6, 2016
• Find & compare nursing homes, hospitals & other providers near you.