After losing Medicare approval, Kansas nursing home enforces strict COVID-19 protocols
Working under a temporary administrator, a Kansas nursing home where at least 10 residents have died of COVID-19 says it has implemented stricter protocols to protect from the virus.
The Anbe Home in Norton was terminated from the Medicare Program this week after inspectors found that staff in the facility failed to wear masks and properly isolate patients.
The Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services assigned Mission Health Communities to temporarily manage the nursing home.
The action comes after all 62 residents at the home tested positive for the virus and the facility was listed as a cluster site associated with 94 cases by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.
In a statement to The Star, Anbe’s administrator, Megan Mapes, outlined efforts the home had taken since Mission stepped in to improve its practices and regain its Medicare approval.
“We are doing everything we can to provide the highest quality care possible for our residents,” Mapes said. “This is a terrible virus, but I am proud of how our staff has battled COVID-19 over the course of the pandemic, coming to work every day under extenuating circumstances, and caring for all of our residents.”
All staff at the facility, Mapes said, were being “formally reeducated” on best practices for infection control and clinical safety.
The entire facility, she said, is now following “stringent safety procedures” including frequent cleansing and disinfecting of high-touch areas, social distancing, frequent hand washing and consistent and proper use of masks and other protective equipment.
Until further notice, Mapes said, no visitors will be allowed at the home to avoid further virus spread in the community.
According to the inspection report from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the home failed to quarantine two residents after they tested positive on Oct. 5 and did not stop communal dining or place all residents in quarantine until Oct. 7. The facility, the letter said, did not test every resident until Oct. 12.
As of Oct. 17, when six residents had already died of the virus, a surveyor saw six employees with masks removed and another with a mask around their chin in a patient’s room. The inspection was sparked by a complaint that suggested residents were in “immediate jeopardy.”
A similar complaint was made in May when the facility was issued an “immediate jeopardy” infection control citation. The home was fined $14,860 in civil penalties. A July survey found the issue had been corrected.
Earlier this week, Medicare sent a letter to the home saying it no longer meets requirements for a skilled nursing program and its Medicare participation was being revoked.
“All of us who work at Andbe Home feel awful about this situation. The virus has made its way here with tragic consequences, as it has in a number of nursing facilities and other places across the country,” Mapes said in a statement.
This story was originally published October 31, 2020 at 1:05 PM.
