Spring Break
Local care centers cited for violations
Laura Prather
Issue date: 4/26/07 Section: News
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Adler volunteered at Twin Pines Adult Care Center in Kirksville to fulfill her clinical experience as a nursing student. She also works at a nursing home in her hometown of Kansas City, Mo.
There are four types of nursing home facilities: residential care, assisted living, immediate care and skilled nursing, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services. Residents in skilled nursing facilities usually need the most care, while residents in residential care facilities need the least amount of care.
Kirksville Manor Care Center and Twin Pines are both skilled nursing facilities, and Preferred Family Healthcare, Inc. is a residential care facility.
In her experience at Twin Pines, Continued from Page 1
Adler said the residents were content and autonomous for the most part, considering their physical and mental states. She said staff enthusiasm can help boost a resident's spirits.
"Staff is really good with communicating with the residents when they have a concern or a problem," Adler said.
The transition to working in a nursing home can be hard or frustrating at first because there are a lot of regulations and rules to follow, many residents require constant care, and the pay is low compared to the amount of work, she said.
"When they start to realize this is someone's dad or this is someone's grandpa, they start to personalize [the relationship] more and take better care of them," Adler said.
Despite this, the number of nursing home violations shows there is room for improvement in the operation of facilities.
Recent inspections show that Twin Pines had six health violations, and Kirksville Manor and Preferred Family Healthcare, Inc. had 13 health violations each. There are an average of eight violations per inspection both nationally and in Missouri, according to www.medicare.gov. Of the violations found in the three facilities, all of them were Class II except for five violations at Preferred Family, which were Class III.
All nursing home facilities are required to be inspected twice each fiscal year, according to DHSS. Facilities with Medicare and Medicaid certification through the federal government are subject to inspection once every 15 months.
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