Information & Ratings on Sunset Hills Health and Rehabilitation Center (Violations)

Nursing home care must be provided in accordance with both regulations and the wishes of the residents. For example, if your loved one has an order to provide CPR when they are nonresponsive, then the facility must do so no matter what. Many families are uncertain of what to do when the skilled nursing facility does not do what they are supposed to in providing care. The answer is that, if it causes harm to your loved one, you have the right and the ability to file suit against the nursing and recover financially on behalf of your loved one and family.

The Sunset Hills Health and Rehabilitation Center is a large-sized facility with 166 certified beds. It participates in both the Medicare and Medicaid programs. The home provides short and long-stay services to residents of the Greater Saint Louis area. It has for-profit ownership and it is located at:

10954 Kennerly Rd 
St. Louis, MO 63128
(314) 843-4242

Nursing homes must be certified to participate in both the Medicare and Medicaid programs. In addition, they must also receive a license to operate from the State of Missouri. Once these facilities are certified and licensed, there are still many ongoing areas where they need to comply with both federal and state laws. The facility is subject to both annual and special inspections by both of these entities in order to assess whether the nursing home has complied and whether there are any violations of these operating requirements.

This nursing home received two separate Notices of Noncompliance from the State of Missouri in 2017. In fact, the two notices were received by the nursing home in an 11-day span. Missouri assigns a severity rating to each violation depending on the severity of the noncompliance. Many cases, when there is actual harm done to a resident, the violation will be deemed a Class I violation. Here, one of the two deficiencies was a Class I. The resident had full code orders for staff to attempt resuscitation if the resident was not breathing. The resident was found nonresponsive and the nurse was informed of this fact twice. However, the nurse did not attempt CPR and the resident expired. The second Notice of Noncompliance was deemed a Class II and involved various failures on the part of the facility to provide basic medical care, such as following orders for oxygen use and giving residents the proper are for incontinence and catheters. 

The facility received a fine of $32,291 following its March 2017 inspection. This fine was also accompanied by a payment denial from Medicare for new residents at the facility. This particular inspection consisted of both a regular inspection as well as a complaint investigation. The regular inspection assessed 18 separate health citations to the facility. The complaint investigation addressed the same facts that led to one of the Notices of Noncompliance from the state. In addition, the nursing home failed to ensure that advance care directives such as full code orders were include in the files of four residents. 

The March 2017 inspection report also noted an instance in which a resident sustained injuries of an unknown origin. The resident had bruises on their arm and hands, and it was speculated that the resident may have a habit of hitting their arms on their wheelchair tray, but it was not known for sure. Even if abuse is not suspected, all injuries of an unknown origin must be thoroughly investigated by the facility and no such investigation occurred here. In addition, there was no evidence that the nursing home checked the federal registry to verify that a particular staff member had no disqualifying events as required prior to their beginning employment at the facility. This was consistent with the finding that the nursing home did not adequately perform background checks prior to hiring three employees as required. Given the duties that staff perform at a nursing home and the vulnerability of the residents, it is vital that all potential employees be thoroughly screened prior to the start of their employment. 

There were also numerous instances in which staff did not treat residents with the necessary dignity when providing care and treatment. For example, staff were using their personal cell phone while in the residents' rooms and talking about residents in front of them. When one resident asked for a substitute lunch because they did not like cabbage or beef, the staff member replied, "You have no teeth so what are you going to eat?" While these acts in themselves are not necessarily legally actionable, they are objectionable on a human level since they violate the dignity of the elderly and the infirm who have earned the right to respect.

The attorneys at the Nursing Home Law Center can help you and your family right a wrong that a nursing home may have done to your loved one. Call us today at (800) 726-9565 and we can discuss the facts of any potential claim that could be filed against the nursing home where your loved one has resided. During your absolutely free consultation, we can provide you with an assessment of your case as well as explain to you the steps that will have to be followed in order to file a claim. 

Sources:

• Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services - May 16, 2007
• Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services - June 26, 2017
• Inspection Report