Owner of facility tied to Kansas coronavirus death runs Washington home where 22 died
The Wyandotte County nursing home at the center of Kansas’ first coronavirus death is owned by the same company that runs a skilled facility in Washington state linked to 22 virus fatalities.
The man in his 70s who died of the coronavirus on Wednesday had been living at the Life Care Center of Kansas City. Life Care Centers of America has facilities in 28 states, including seven in Kansas and 10 in Missouri, and owns the nursing home in Kirkland, Washington, that has been a focal point of the deadly virus.
Twenty-two people associated with Life Care Center of Kirkland have died of the new coronavirus. More than 30 others have tested positive for the virus at that facility.
Recent government inspection records show the Kansas City, Kansas, nursing home has an overall rating of “much below average,” receiving a score of 1 out of 5 stars.
Life Care Centers of America released a detailed timeline to The Star on Friday afternoon of the Wyandotte County patient’s last two weeks, which said he arrived at the nursing facility on Feb. 25. He was transferred there from Providence Medical Center, where he had been treated for undisclosed reasons not related to the coronavirus.
On March 7, the company said, he was taken to a local emergency room for “a medical issue entirely unrelated to symptoms or signs of COVID-19.” He was returned to the nursing home the same day.
His medical condition changed earlier this week.
After the man “became unresponsive in our facility,” he was rushed on Tuesday to Providence with acute cardiac symptoms and a fever. According to the statement, the man did not exhibit signs or symptoms of a respiratory illness at the time. He died the next day.
“Our heartfelt condolences go out to the friends and loved ones of this patient,” the statement said.
The Wyandotte County facility was notified by state officials at 4:30 p.m. Thursday that a post-mortem test showed the patient had tested positive for the coronavirus.
In a statement issued Thursday, Providence Medical Center said that a patient was brought by ambulance on Tuesday from a nursing home to the hospital’s emergency department.
“Our staff and physicians immediately provided lifesaving care to stabilize the patient’s condition, following all infection control protocols set forth by KDHE and CDC,” the hospital said. “Unfortunately, the patient died less than 24 hours after admission due to complications. It was decided to take samples post-mortem for COVID-19 due to observed dissent, low blood pressure and high fever.”
The hospital said it had identified the staff members who came into contact with the patient “and is following all guidelines regarding healthcare work exposure.”
“We extend our deepest condolences to the patient’s family,” the statement said. “At this time, our top priority remains protecting public health and ensuring the safety of our patients, visitors, staff, physicians, volunteers, and community.”
In a news conference Friday afternoon, the secretary of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment said the death is the first known case in the state of “local transmission.”
“The person got it in the community from somebody,” said Lee Norman. “Probably from somebody that had visited that patient.”
He said it’s important to find out who had any contact with the man.
Norman said he was aware that the Wyandotte County facility is owned by the same company that operates the Washington nursing home. He said “we’ll focus a lot” on whether there was any connection beyond that they have the same ownership, such as “personnel sharing.”
Records on the Medicare.gov website indicate the Wyandotte County facility received 18 health deficiencies as a result of an Aug. 22 inspection, more than double the average for both the U.S. and Kansas.
In addition to the low overall rating, the facility also received a “much below average” rating for staffing and a “below average” rating for health inspections, with a score of 2 out of 5 stars, according to the agency’s nursing home comparison site. It received an “average” rating — 3 out of 5 stars – for quality measures.
Nursing homes that are certified by Medicare and Medicaid are inspected each year for health and safety concerns.
Among the deficiencies noted in the inspection were that the facility failed to provide scheduled bathing for some residents; failed to provide necessary respiratory care and/or services consistent with professional standards of practice for some residents; failed to maintain proper medical records; and failed to monitor pain and the effectiveness of pain medications for some residents.
The nursing home also failed to document weekly skin assessments for one resident’s surgical wound, the inspection found. A surgical incision on the resident’s right foot, the report said, had softening and breaking down of skin as a result of “prolonged exposure to moisture, such as sweat, urine, or feces (or wounds for extended periods), separation of the incision, and myiasis (parasitic infestation of the body of a live animal by fly larvae (maggots) that grow inside the host while feeding on its tissue).”
Norman said health officials will thoroughly review the nursing home’s records.
“There’s a lot of people to interview, a lot of records to look into,” he said. “We really are very interested to know what their practices were.”
The Wyandotte County man is one of six coronavirus cases in Kansas.
The first confirmed Kansas case — from Johnson County — was announced last Saturday.
On Thursday, the state announced another three confirmed cases in Johnson County. The men had attended a conference in Florida and weren’t showing symptoms when they traveled back home.
The most recent case was announced Friday morning. A patient who had recently returned from a cruise was in isolation at Wichita’s Wesley Medical Center after testing positive for coronavirus.
No cases of the respiratory illness have been confirmed in Kansas City. On Thursday, Gov. Mike Parson announced Missouri’s second “presumptive positive” case, found in Greene County. The Springfield resident, whom the governor said was “in their 20s,” had just returned from visiting Austria.
The first confirmed Missouri case was a 20-year-old St. Louis County woman who had been studying in Italy.
Parson announced two more cases Friday, but gave no details.
This story was originally published March 13, 2020 at 12:37 PM.
