Information & Ratings on Liberty Health and Wellness (Violations)

Nursing homes are places where your loved ones go when they need skilled care at all times. You expect that, when your family member is sick, the nursing home will take all appropriate measures to care for them. When a nursing home neglects your loved one, is negligent or mistreats them, you may have an actionable legal claim. You do not have to simply just hope for the best. Instead you can take control of the situation by filing a legal claim against the nursing home. This claim could entitle you and your family to financial compensation for any harm that your loved one has suffered.

Liberty Health and Wellness is a large facility with 143 certified beds. It participates in both the Medicare and Medicaid programs. Liberty Health and Wellness provides long-stay services to residents of Liberty, MO and the Greater Kansas City area. It has for-profit ownership and is located at:

2201 Glenn Hendren Dr
Liberty, MO 64068
(816) 736-8800

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services makes all information regarding nursing home inspection public and puts it on their website. This enables families of residents to see what type of care is being provided at the facilities where there loved ones resides. Based on this data, Medicare assigns star ratings so each home can be compared based on the care and the metrics that they provide to Medicare. In addition, the federal government has the authority to fine nursing homes for serious uncorrected deficiencies in care.

Liberty Health and Wellness received a $62,500 fine in January 2017. The amount of this fine is much higher than the average fine that is assessed to a skilled nursing facility when the federal government finds reason to levy a monetary penalty. This fine resulted from an investigation initiated in response to a complaint that was filed. When the inspection was conducted, seven patients were selected as the audit sample and the examiner found violations with regard to the care of five of the patients.

For one resident, the staff did not take that resident's vital signs for several days despite the fact that there was a physician's order to do so. Even when the resident was vomiting and requested that a nurse take their temperature, the nurse did not do so. Further, there was no record in the resident's file that they were transferred to a hospital. Moreover, a nurse took that resident's medical records of the facility in their own personal bag. There were other patients who did not receive the proper treatment for wounds. 

In addition, one resident fell and sustained a head injury. When that occurs, procedures dictate that the staff must conduct periodic neurological checks of the resident, but the facility did not perform those checks. Depending on the circumstances, there checks must be performed for 72 hours after the fall. In addition, staff failed to notify both the physician and the resident's family of the fall and the injury. At the same time, the facility also did not investigate falls or have the appropriate interventions for a resident who had several falls. Moreover, the facility did not correct this deficiency within 15 days after the inspection report. This is reflected by the statistics that the home reports to Medicaid that state that its rate of residents suffering an injury in a fall is twice the national average. 

Liberty Health and Wellness has received the lowest possible ratings from Medicaid in all of the subfactors on which it is rated. There have been 18 complaints filed against this facility in the past three years that have resulted in a citation. Also, there have been five self-reported issues that have resulted in further citations. While the most recent inspection report in June 2018 did show some improvement, there have also been two different complaint investigations in 2018 that resulted in citations.

In a March 2018 report after an investigation, it was detailed the facility did not give one resident a particular medication for three days. The reason was that the home was out of the medication. However, it was not transcribed in the resident's file nor was it told to the physician. Further, staff did not check the home's emergency medication supply to see if there was extra medication there. Another patient had been sick for months with gastrointestinal issues, but the staff did not carry out the physician's orders for certain tests. The physician was unaware of the patient's deteriorating condition and did not know that certain testing orders were not carried out.

The attorneys at the Nursing Home Law Center can help you and your family take action when your loved one has suffered harm while at a nursing facility. Call us today at (800) 726-9565 and let us put our years of experience to work on behalf of your loved one. Consultations with us are always free and you owe us nothing unless we are able to help your family achieve a financial recovery in the case. In that event, we are paid on a contingency basis out of the settlement or jury award. 

Sources:

• Inspection Report
• Inspection Report