My KDADS Journal
By:
Joe Sopchich
This incident occurred in the state of Kansas. I made the decision to reach out to KDADS (Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services) to report the details of my mom’s experience regarding her care, or rather the lack of care. It was recommended to the family that we make contact with KDADS to report the details of our experience and observations regarding our mother’s care, rather the lack of care. Upon reading this report, you will not have learned much, if anything, about how this agency is supposed to advocate for patients in the confines of eldercare businesses within the state. The descriptions of mission and purpose on their website makes all the proclamations one would expect. Despite the advice of many, I filed my complaint.
The journal of events follows:
January 2023 – I am the patient’s son. I thoroughly studied the KDADS website to learn their required procedures for communicating a grievance. It informed me that upon submitting a request for assistance, I would promptly receive an email that provided a case number to initiate the assistance process.
March 20, 2023 – I forwarded my complaint via registered mail to the KDADS office in Topeka. I followed all the protocols as required on the website.
April 11, 2023 – Having received no acknowledgement from KDADS, I called and left a message that I had not heard from them.
April 12, 2023 – I received a call at 8:50 AM informing me they had not received my complaint. I called the local Post Office, and they said it was delivered at 11:57 AM on March 21. I called KDADS at 10:36 MM to give them the exact date and time of delivery. The person looked for it, found it, and apologized for “misspeaking” earlier. I was told it was assigned to a “surveyor” and once the process was over I would be contacted. I figured my complaint was laying on a desk in the KDADS office for 22 days. A number was assigned to the case, #9003.
May 9, 2023 – Upon receiving no further contact from KDADS, two calls were placed during the day, neither of which were answered.
May 16, 2023 – Again, a call was placed and not answered. I left a message on the recorder. The call was returned at 1:45 PM to inform me that the investigation ongoing. I was provided with the name, email address, and phone number of the KDADS regional manager.
June 22, 2023 – More than one month has passed with no contact or report from KDADS on the status or outcome of the investigation. Another call was placed at 11:00 AM with a message left to ask for an update. The call was returned later in the day, and this time I was informed that a “surveyor” had not yet been assigned, despite being told two months earlier that an investigator was on the case. I was referred again to the regional director. It was three months since I filed my complaint.
June 23, 2023 – Frustrated, I wrote a letter to the Governor’s office including my original complaint and concerns. I never received an acknowledgement.
June 28, 2023 – I called the regional director’s office at 1:40 PM and left a message. The call was never returned.
July 11, 2023 – I received a call from KDADS. I missed the call. I thought maybe the Governor forwarded my complaint to the KDADS office, hence the call.
July 12, 2023 – I returned the call from the day before and again it was not answered.
July 18, 2023 – The call I referred to in the two previous entries was finally returned at 4:45 PM. The person asked, on the recording, “if there was anything they could do.” This occurred almost five months after I submitted my complaint.
July 19, 2023 – I returned the call again and had to leave a message due to no one answering. The call was never returned.
August 17, 2023 – Six months after filing the formal complaint, another call was placed to the KDADS office at 2:30 PM. This time I was informed that too much time had passed since my mother had expired when I originally filed the complaint. This was the first time I was told there was a time statute for such complaints, despite the fact that a case number was assigned and an investigation had been supposedly launched. I asked her to have the person I spoke with earlier to call me. I never received a call.
October 17, 2023 – I received a call in the late afternoon from the surveyor who had apparently been assigned to the case even though two months earlier I was informed the case was rejected do to the statute. Upon confirming the case number was correct she told me she was about to walk into the SNF facility to examine and review the information on file about my mom.
December 17, 2023 – Nine months after filing the complaint I received a letter from KDADS informing me that the investigation of the complaint had been completed and the facility was found to be in compliance with regard to all allegations. The case was closed. The letter also cited various state codifications related to the required confidentially of the findings. They are not available to the public.
All of the dates and details contained in this catalog are accurate according to my recollections. As the saying goes, you can’t make this stuff up. But most important, KDADS once again failed a citizen of Kansas, his loved ones, and, most importantly, my mother. The fact is that in the state of Kansas when it comes to finding accountable care facilities, you are on your own.