Inspection records reveal serious safety violations in nursing home's past

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Missouri inspection records of a Kansas City nursing home show serious violations within the past couple of years.

George Macias, a 75-year-old with Alzheimer’s, wandered away from Cherry Hills Community and Rehabilitation on Sunday morning. He was found dead later that evening.

Macias’ relatives said he wore a special ankle bracelet that was supposed to sound an alarm if he left the facility.

In 2010, the nursing home had two different violations the state considered “an immediate jeopardy to resident health and safety.”

One inspection violation related to sensor alarms that were placed next to beds and chairs for residents who had a high risk of falling.

However, the inspection report said the “facility failed to assure staff used a properly functioning sensor alarm, implemented a system to monitor sensor alarms and educate facility staff on how to identify a properly working sensor alarm.”

The report said the failure allowed a resident to fall on March 19 when the sensor alarm did not operate correctly. The resident suffered serious head injuries and died four days later.

Following the violation, the facility said all staff members would be trained on proper use of the alarms and frequent battery checks would be documented. The facility also replaced all of its sensor alarms.

Another inspection violation in 2010 related to staff members not following a doctor’s orders and providing blood-thinning medication to a resident. That resident had a stroke on April 15 and died a week later.

Administrators at the nursing home did not respond to multiple interview requests from 41 Action News.

A spokeswoman with the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services said the state does not comment on pending investigations.

However, if a complaint is filed related to Macias leaving the facility, it will become public record once the state investigates and confirms it’s a violation.

The most recent annual inspection did not reveal any serious violations.

To read the nursing home's recent inspection history, go to http://bit.ly/ME9ucS