State asks to take over 15 nursing homes, including three in Edwardsville

Three nursing homes in Edwardsville, Kansas, are among 15 nursing homes listed that the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services has proposed taking over today.

KDADS has asked 13 district courts to allow the agency to take over the skilled nursing facilities after the operator of the facilities advised the state it will not be able to make an upcoming payroll, a KDADS news release stated today.

The state asked the courts to put the facilities in receivership while arrangements are made for them to continue to operate and to provide care for approximately 845 residents.

Edwardsville Care and Rehabilitation Center LLC, Kaw River Care and Rehabilitation Center LLC, and Parkway Care and Rehabilitation Center LLC, in Edwardsville, are among the 15 nursing homes listed.

“Our most pressing concern at this point is stability,” said Tim Keck, KDADS secretary, in a news release. “We want to ensure the residents of these facilities continue to receive the care they need, and to make sure the staff, which provides that care, continues to be paid.”

“This is a highly unusual situation, but we have identified a nursing home management group that is willing to step in immediately and begin overseeing these facilities,” Keck said. “We have discussed the matter with CMS and now are working to get all of the arrangements in place as soon as possible.”

The state is seeking receivership to take over management of the homes from Skyline Health Care, based in Wood Ridge, New Jersey, which acquired the Kansas facilities in 2016.

Staff from KDADS and the three managed care organizations that administer Medicaid in Kansas will meet with residents and their families next week to explain the changes.

Mission Health Care, which operates 14 nursing homes in Kansas as well as Tennessee, Georgia, Minnesota and Wisconsin, has agreed to step in and oversee the operation of the Kansas facilities, according to the KDADS news release.