Contractor making progress rehabilitating Westview Manor
Staff writer
Since the day the state was given temporary operation of Westview Manor in Peabody, an agency hired to begin the rehabilitation process has had someone on the scene.
Nichole Burger, regional director of operations for Mission Health Communities, said Kansas Department for Aging and Disabilities Services contacted Mission Health on Dec. 12, the same day a judge ordered the facility into temporary receivership after a state surveyor found numerous violations in the condition and operation of Westview Manor.
Burger said progress on fixing problems at Westview has been underway since she arrived. Toilets have been repaired and other physical improvements are in process.
Mission Health Communities operates 31 facilities in five states, and is working on 20 Kansas homes currently held in receivership, she said.
The surveyor who inspected Westview in late November reported a toilet door in a women’s shower room was tied closed with a plastic bag, and the non-working toilet emitted a foul odor; other toilets in the facility did not work; light fixtures were not functioning; a wall had exposed wires; floor tiles were broken and cracked; and an old nurses’ station area was unsightly and soiled.
The surveyor also found a patient was missing 119 hydrocodone tablets, and the facility did not keep records of what was done to dispose of other patients’ narcotics when they were discontinued.
Besides that, 16 of the facility’s 38 residents had negative financial balances ranging from $1.94 to $1,094.46 during 2018.
Westview had $240,755.29 in outstanding bills more than 120 past due, the surveyor reported.
Some vendors had discontinued service due to nonpayment. A food vendor, owed $12,705, only accepted orders for payment upon delivery.
Westview was behind on payments to a nursing supply vendor and a staffing agency.