Kansas personal injury attorneys represent victims of abuse and neglect occurring in nursing facilities throughout the state. Their legal representation in response to the work done by Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and Kansas State agency regulators. The efforts of the regulators and surveyors help to identify serious problems, grievances, violations, and deficiencies.
In the most egregious cases, the regulators will designate the nursing home as a Special Focus Facility (SFF) and add the Center to the national Medicare deficiency watch list. In 2016, regulators designated Trego Manor Nursing Home as an SFF Center due to substandard care. Some of the most egregious problems, concerns and hazards involving this facility are documented below.
This Nursing Facility is a ‘County-Owned’ Home providing services to residents of Wakeeney and Trego County, Kansas. The Medicaid/Medicare-accepted 40-certified bed Center is located at:
320 South Avenue
Wakeeney, KS 67672
785-743-5787
According to an August 2017 Article in the Hays Daily News, Trego Manor Nursing Home will be closing its doors permanently due to the “facility’s financial situation and fines for health inspections violations.” The article stated that in addition to “several serious health violations cited by the federal government during routine inspections,” the “largest fine was in the amount of approximately $211,000, stemming from a case of a patient being sexually abused by a roommate in August 2016.” The article claimed that “federal citations – which are a matter of public record and easily accessible online – also caused irreparable damage to Trego Manor’s reputation…”
State and federal agencies in charge of enforcing regulations have the legal authority to levy monetary penalties against any nursing home identified with serious concerns, violations, and deficiencies. These fines are meant to deter inferior performance to ensure significant changes are made, or the facility might be required to shutter their doors.
Since 2015, regulators impose more than $225,000 in monetary fines against Trego Manor Nursing Home. This includes a $6,500 fine on 06/23/2015, a $16,380 fine on 10/29/2015, and a $204,834 fine on 08/31/2016. During the same time, regulators handled 12 formally filed complaints and seven facility-reported issues that after investigations all resulted in citations. Over the last 36 months, Medicare denied a request for payment due to substandard care on October 29, 2015, and August 31, 2016.
To ensure the families are fully informed of the services and care that nursing home offers in their community, the federal government and state of Illinois routinely update their completed list of safety concerns, opened investigations, incident inquiries, health violations, dangerous hazards, and filed complaints of Homes nationwide. This information can be used to make an informed decision before placing a loved one in a facility.
Currently, Trego Manor Nursing Home maintains an overall one out of five stars compared to all nursing homes in the United States. This ranking includes one out of five stars for health inspections, four out of five stars for staffing issues, and one star for quality measures. Some of the serious violations, health hazards, and deficiencies involving this facility include:
In a separate summary statement of deficiencies dated August 31, 2016, the state investigator initiated a complaint investigation to identify failures involving resident to resident sexual abuse. The surveyor concluded that there was a failure “to notify the physician of [a resident’s] inappropriate sexual behaviors and resident to resident sexual abuse.”
One resident’s June 8, 2016, Care Plan indicated the resident “could be verbally abusive to staff when staff attempted to redirect the resident. The Care Plan also indicated the resident self-propelled [their] wheelchair for mobility. Continue review of the Care Plan revealed no interventions to address the resident’s sexual behaviors or to direct staff to monitor the resident for sexual behaviors.”
The surveyor reviewed the medical records of the other resident also involved in the staff failure incident who was admitted to the facility “for seven days of respite care, while [their] mother traveled.” This medical record indicated that the resident was cognitively intact with severely impaired vision and required limited assistance with transfer, toileting, personal hygiene and walking.” Both these resident’s “shared a room.”
A review of the Social Service Designee Progress Note dated February 24, 2016, indicated that the first resident “was always touching, rubbing or stroking [the other resident] when they were in the room together. The Progress Note indicated the roommate [the other resident] had problems with napping, personal space and requested to be removed from the situation.”
The surveyor continued to review the medical record that “revealed no staff investigation of this incident, no notification to either resident’s physician, and no counseling or psychiatric evaluation/treatment… to address these behaviors.”
In a separate incident involving the aggressive resident, the surveyor reviewed a third resident’s Medical Record that indicated “the facility admitted this resident on April 8, 2016, for therapy and rehabilitation. The medical record indicated the resident had moderately impaired cognition and required assistance with toileting, personal hygiene, transfers and walking.”
In this case, a review of the Social Service Designee Progress Note indicated that the sexually aggressive resident had their hands down their pants, while “touching [their new roommate’s] leg.” This Progress Note “indicated the roommate was uncomfortable with this incident and requested to be moved to a different room.”
A August 20, 2016, Social Service Designee Progress Note revealed that the allegedly sexually aggressive resident’s new roommate had the “staff move the resident back to a private room.” The surveyor noted that “regarding this incident, [there was] no notification to either resident’s physician, no counseling or psychiatric evaluation [or] treatment for [the allegedly sexually aggressive resident’s] Care Plan to address these behaviors.”
The state surveyor observed the allegedly aggressive resident at 4:40 PM on August 24, 2016 “seated in [their] wheelchair, in the hall approximately 8 to 10 feet from [the third roommate’s] room door with no staff supervision. Continued observation revealed that “the [resident] self-propelled [their] wheelchair toward the dining room with no staff supervision.”
The extensive incidents involving inappropriate sexual behavior included an event on August 24, 2016, at 3:20 PM. At that time, a nurse aide stated that they had witnessed the resident “seated in a wheelchair, placing their hand down the front of a [new roommate’s] pants, while the roommate was in bed.” In this incident, the Nurse Aide stated that “the facility admitted the [new] roommate for a short time, while [their] family was away, and the roommate had only been at the facility for a couple of days when the incident occurred.”
The Nurse Aide stated that the blind, alert and oriented new roommate was “very upset and emotional after the incident and demanded to be moved to a different room.” The Nurse Aide stated that they “were not aware that the facility revised [the resident’s] Care Plan to protect other residents from [their] sexual behaviors.” The surveyor reminded the facility of their Abuse/Neglect Policy dated November 25, 2015, that indicates that:
- “The residents have the right to be free from mental, physical, sexual and verbal abuse, and the facility would do whatever possible to control resident to resident altercations.”
- “Staff to monitor and assess residents for behaviors and develop interventions to prevent ongoing and future behaviors.”
- “Staff to obtain a psychiatric consultation for residents identified with abusive behaviors or notify the resident’s physician and psychiatric services after a resident to resident incident.”
- “Staff to immediately investigate all resident-to-resident incident and report to the State Agency as needed.”
- “Social Service Staff to follow up resident-to-resident abuse incidents and ensure the residents receive supportive counseling with appropriate documentation on the medical record.”
However, “the policy did not address the need to [protect] all residents after resident-to-resident incidents.” The surveyor said the facility “failed to notify the physician of the resident’s inappropriate sexual behaviors and resident-to-resident sexual abuse.”
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated May 16, 2016, a formal complaint investigation was opened against the facility by a state investigator to identify any failure. The surveyor determined that the facility “failed to report the misappropriation of [a resident’s medication] as required. The facility also failed to report an incident of narcotic pain medication when it was replaced with a diuretic medication, to the local police department, and to the State Agency.”
The incident involved a botched administration medication where a bubble pack containing narcotic pain medications “had two tablets in the bubble pack. One tablet was intact with original packaging from the pharmacy, and the second tablet was taped behind the back of the bubble pack.”
An investigation was initiated because the incident involved a regulated narcotic. However, the “investigation revealed all staff were drug tested by the facility, [but] the Police Department was not notified, and the State agency was not notified. The investigation further revealed that the facility provided an in-service to the staff regarding the issue.”
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated January 25, 2016, a state investigator opened a complaint investigation against the facility to identify failures. The investigator determined that the facility had “failed to notify the physician regarding a change in condition, and the unavailability of a physician ordered medication.” The investigation involved a review of a resident’s Minimum Data Set Assessment that “had not been completed. The January 2016 Nursing Admission Assessment indicated the resident was alert and oriented and could make [their] needs known.”
The incident in question was documented on a January 16, 2016, Nurses Note at 1:30 PM that stated after the resident had eaten breakfast and the dining room and consumed only a small amount of food returned to their room and had “three small episodes of yellow emesis (vomiting).” An assessment of the resident’s condition and vitals did not reveal any serious problem. However, the evening Nurse's Notes “stated the resident refused supper, did not want to come out of [their] room and stated [they] felt like [they] were going to vomit.” The note “stated the resident took [their] oral medications and staff encourage [them] to drink fluids.”
The resident did not vomit during the night but there “color was pale, [and…] skin was warm and dry. The following day, the nurses note revealed that the resident was still having trouble … was administered their medications except for one “because it would not be available.”
The state investigator reviewed the resident’s Medication Administration Record and other medical records and documented that “the facility failed to notify the physician of the unavailable narcotic pain medication for [the resident] who reported [they] did not feel well, and experienced nausea and vomiting.”
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated May 16, 2016, a complaint investigation against the facility was opened to identify failures. The state surveyor documented that the facility “failed to provide care for [one resident] as Care Planned, for safe transfer technique in the use of a gait belt for transfer.” The incident involved a resident who had "moderately impaired cognition” and “displayed disorganized thinking, inattention, delusion, and verbal behavior toward others.” The resident’s MDS (Minimum Data Set) indicated that “the resident had an unsteady balance, was unable to stabilize without staff assistance, used a wheelchair, and received antipsychotic medications.”
The resident’s March 16, 2016, Care Plan informed the staff that “the resident communicated [their] wants and needs verbally and yelled until [they] got [their] way. The Care Plan further informed the staff the resident was very impatient, may not wait for staff and instructed staff to have an alarm placed in [their] bed and chairs.
One incident was documented in the March 2, 2016, Nurses Note at 6:20 PM that indicated “the resident sat in [their] wheelchair with poor body alignment…. The note indicated the resident had difficulty propelling [themselves] and yelled at the nurses’ station. The note indicated the resident wanted to go to [their] room, [and that the] staff was unable to reason with [them]. During the incident, the resident “was very impatient, and stated [they] could not help it.”
An April 11, 2016, Disciplinary Report “revealed that the staff “counsel the Medication Aide “that sitting a resident on the floor on April 10, 2016, was an undocumented fall and was unacceptable. The disciplinary report further indicated the staff directed [the Medication Aide] to have patients with the residents at all times and yelling and berating a resident was abuse. The disciplinary report further indicated [the medication aide] would be monitored for appropriate interactions with residents.”
The Medication Aide was suspended on April 13, 2016 “pending an investigation.” Notes from the “investigation indicated the administrative staff viewed the incident on camera, and the administrative staff determined [the Medication Aide] acted appropriately in placing the resident on the floor in a controlled situation.” However, “a review of the medical record revealed no Nurses Notes or physician notification related to the incident.”
Was your loved one the victim of abuse, neglect, mistreatment or sexual assault while a resident at Trego Manor Nursing Home, or any nursing facility? If so, hiring a law firm that specializes in nursing home cases could be beneficial to your family. Your lawyer can file all the necessary paperwork in the appropriate Kansas county courthouse before the statute of limitations expires. Your legal team can ensure your family is adequately compensated to recover financial damages.
Handling a case involving a county-owned facility after it permanently shuttered their doors can be complex. However, reputable personal injury law firm can hold the government agency financially accountable for the damages injury, harm and damages they have caused. These attorneys handle mistreatment cases through contingency fee arrangements. This agreement means your legal fees are paid only after the attorneys have negotiated an out of court settlement on your behalf or have successfully resolved your compensation case in a court of law.
Sources:
Attorney Ruben Krisztal
Licensed in Kansas
Chicago Nursing Home Injury Lawyer Nursing Home Law Center LLC Home