KNI corrects improper care problems
Topeka ? JKansas Neurological Institute has corrected problems with improper care, but an investigation into the allegations is expected to continue, officials said Tuesday.
Earlier this month, the Kansas Department on Aging said that several clients at KNI, a Topeka institution for the developmentally disabled, had suffered injury or neglect.
Among the alleged problems:
¢ Two staff members were reported to have laughed after feeding a client a cracker with hot sauce on it. The client had an allergic reaction and scratched around his or her mouth until it bled.
¢A nurse “forgot to look” at a client’s broken arm for one or two days.
¢ KNI failed to document when errors were made in disbursing medicine.
The state Department on Aging had threatened to curtail Medicaid funding to the 168-client facility.
But Barbara Conant, a DOA spokeswoman, said Tuesday that a second survey done recently at KNI persuaded regulators that the problems had been corrected.
“They were found back in compliance,” Conant said. “Our surveyors found that the immediate jeopardy had been resolved.”
Rocky Nichols, executive director of the Disability Rights Center of Kansas, said the issue wouldn’t end there. He said the incidents of alleged abuse would be investigated by his organization and the attorney general’s office to determine if charges should be sought.