Only Wonder Understands

I’ve been posting these cryptic notes on the recent situation at McKendree Village, but haven’t had time to really comment on my thoughts.

A good friend of mine is legal counsel for the Metro Nashville Health System, which includes the Bordeaux Long Term Care facility. Bordeaux recently went through a similar proceeding, which has since been cleared up.

Marc tells me that the state investigators have been recently a bit more activist in their inspections, and that many of the issues tend to be administrative rather than related to specific care. This can include issues with the paperwork, or things that can fall out of the control of the facility, such as a resident propping open a door that isn’t supposed to be open. In most cases these complaints can easily be remedied, and the facility quickly comes back into compliance.

I haven’t been over to McKendree recently, but all indications from others is that it is no worse than any other long term care facility. I have confidence that all will be righted quickly.

For more than 40 years, McKendree Village has earned a solid reputation for providing quality services and care. We are accredited by the Continuing Care Accreditation Commission as well as the EAGLE Accreditation Commission. Everyone associated with McKendree Village is deeply committed to our mission to provide quality retirement living and health care services for our residents in a secure, Christian environment.

In pursuit of that mission, we value and incorporate the review of regulators and outside evaluators as integral to our continuous improvement. Our facilities have historically compared favorably to state and federal surveys and we have received numerous awards and recognition for our programs.

Unfortunately, the Tennessee Department of Health (TDH) has recently determined the Health Care Center at McKendree Village is not in substantial compliance with certain regulations and has suspended new admissions to our nursing facility. Consequently, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has terminated our Medicare/Medicaid provider agreements. These actions impact only our nursing facility; admissions to our assisted living and independent living residences continue without interruption.

Everyone associated with the management of McKendree Village is disappointed by these events and is dedicated to remedying the situation with the State and CMS. We will continue to work with the State to address their concerns so that the suspension of new admissions is lifted as quickly as possible.

We are also carefully reviewing all appeal opportunities available to us through the state and federal processes as we believe these sanctions are unwarranted. None of the issues identified by the State resulted in any actual harm; in fact, many of their findings related to documentation and internal communication processes. As we evaluate our options over the next few days, we will continue meeting with residents and contacting families to further discuss this matter and its potential impact.

We are honored and humbled that nearly 300 individuals in need consider the Health Care Center at McKendree Village their home. We are committed to providing them with the quality, loving care for which we are regarded and we firmly believe that no one wants to cause concern for these residents for whom nursing care in our facility is clearly the best and most appropriate option. We remain hopeful the State will continue to work with us as we demonstrate full compliance with their requirements.