Most forms of mistreatment involving a nursing home patient constitute neglect or abuse if it occurs at the hands of caregivers, family members, friends, employees, or another patient. Every member of the nursing home staff has a legal responsibility to protect each resident in a safe, compassionate environment. Any neglect or abuse could compromise the health, safety, and care of the resident.
If your loved one was harmed while residing in a Sedgwick County nursing facility, contact the Kansas Nursing Home Law Center Attorneys now for immediate legal intervention. Let our team of lawyers work on your family’s behalf to ensure you receive financial compensation to restore your damages. We can begin working on your case today.
This long-term care home is a "for profit" 106-certified bed center providing cares and services to residents of Wichita and Sedgwick County, Kansas. The Medicare and Medicaid-participating facility is located at:
1555 N Meridian Street
Wichita, Kansas 67203
(316) 942-8471
Meridian Rehabilitation And Health Care Center
In addition to providing around the clock skilled nursing care, Meridian Rehabilitation And Health Care Center offers other services. Additional focused care includes tracheostomy care, palliative care, pain management, hospice, respite care, infectious disease care, IV (intravenous) therapy, and restorative care including physical, occupational and speech therapies.
Both the state of Kansas and federal agencies are legally obligated to monitor every nursing facility and impose monetary fines or deny payments through Medicare when investigators find that the nursing home seriously violated established regulations.
Within the last three years, investigators imposed two monetary penalties against Meridian Rehabilitation And Health Care Center, citing substandard care. These penalties include a $7,150 fine on September 12, 2017, and a $14,631 fine on April 19, 2017, for a total of $21,781.
Additional information about this nursing home can be found on the Kansas Long-Term Care State Survey Reports.
To be fully informed on the level of care nursing homes provide, families routinely research Medicare.gov and the Kansas Department of Public Health website database systems for a complete list of deficiencies, violations, and citations.
According to Medicare, this facility maintains an overall rating of one out of five stars, including one out of five stars concerning health inspections, three out of five stars for staffing issues and four out of five stars for quality measures.
According to state investigators, the facility “failed to monitor the left heel of a cognitively impaired resident who was at risk for pressure ulcers (localized injury to the skin or underlying tissue usually over a bony prominence) development.”
The surveyor said upon observation on January 9, 2019, that the facility staff “was unaware of a pressure ulcer approximately 1.5 cm x 1.5 cm on the left heel, untreated and covered with eschar (dead devitalized tissue, which appears scab-like).”
A review of the resident’s December 18, 2018, Quarterly MDS (Minimum Data Set) Assessment shows that the severely, cognitively impaired resident had an “unstageable pressure ulcer with a Suspected Deep Tissue Injury [DTI] that was present upon readmission with no venous or arterial ulcers. The resident received pressure-reducing devices for his/her chair and bed, turning and repositioning, pressure ulcer care, and applications of non-surgical dressings and ointment other than to his/her feet.”
However, a review of November 1, 2018, through January 9, 2019 Skin Assessments revealed “no mention of left heel skin concerns.” At 1:55 PM on January 9, 2019, a Licensed Nursing Staff Member “removed the resident’s protected boot left foot and stock. There was no dressing in place on the left heel.”
The observation revealed “a pressure ulcer approximately 1.5 cm x 1.5 cm on the resident’s left lateral heal, covered with eschar.” The staff member reported that they were “under the impression the wound clinic considered the heel [wound] healed.”
The surveyors documented that the facility “failed to document the development of a left heel pressure ulcer for a cognitively impaired resident who was at risk for pressure ulcer development.”
The nursing home “failed to honor the residents’ rights and support a resident’s choices.” Specifically, the resident’s chose to engage in consensual sexual activity, and the facility failed to support the rights to make that choice.”
Were you the victim of mistreatment while you lived at Meridian Rehabilitation And Health Care Center? Contact the Kansas nursing home abuse attorneys at Nursing Home Law Center at (800) 926-7565 for immediate legal intervention. We represent Sedgwick County victims of abuse and neglect in all areas including Wichita.
It is always free to discuss your case with our legal team. We provide a 100% “No Win/No-Fee” Guarantee, meaning you will owe us nothing until we can secure financial recovery on your behalf.
Sources:
Attorney Ruben Krisztal
Licensed in Kansas
Chicago Nursing Home Injury Attorney Nursing Home Law Center LLC Home