Life Care Center of Burlington

Name: Life Care Center of Burlington
Address: 601 CROSS STREET, Burlington, KS, 66839, US
Telephone: 6203642117

601 Cross Street, Burlington, KS 66839 · Coffey County · 77 certified beds · avg 70 residents/day · certified since Jun 1, 1996

Part of chain: LIFE CARE CENTERS OF AMERICA (194 facilities, chain avg rating 3.4★)

3/5

Health inspection rating (on-site)

Serious findings on record

Fines, last 3 years

3.54

Nurse hours/resident/day (adjusted)

What health inspectors found (on-site government inspections — the most independent evidence available)

Health inspection rating: ★★★☆☆3/5 · CMS overall rating: 3/5

The health inspection star above is graded on a curve within each state — a set share of each state's facilities gets each star level — so a facility can have few citations and still rate 2–3 stars if others in its state did even better. The overall rating combines that inspection score with staffing and self-reported quality measures.

Most serious findings (actual harm or immediate jeopardy)

▲ Actual harm, one-off · Jan 31, 2023 · F-0686

The facility did not provide proper care for pressure ulcers (bedsores) or did not do enough to prevent new ones from forming. Bedsores develop when residents stay in one position too long without help moving.

Why it matters: Bedsores are painful, can become deeply infected, and in serious cases can be life-threatening.

Severity (G): One or a few residents were actually harmed — physically or emotionally — though not put in immediate danger of serious injury or death.

Corrected: Feb 28, 2023 (Deficient, Provider has date of correction)

All citations in the current public record (22)

CMS publishes roughly the last three inspection cycles plus recent complaint investigations. Older surveys drop out of the record as new ones are completed.

Date	Severity	What the facility was cited for
Dec 11, 2024	F · Potential for harm, facility-wide	The facility did not employ enough qualified food and nutrition staff, including a qualified dietician, to properly run its food service. · from a complaint
Dec 11, 2024	F · Potential for harm, facility-wide	The facility did not have or follow an effective program to prevent and control infections — such as proper hand washing, cleaning, and isolation practices. This is the most commonly cited deficiency nationwide. · from a complaint
Dec 11, 2024	D · Potential for harm, one-off	The facility did not protect residents from abuse or neglect. This covers physical, mental, and sexual abuse, physical punishment, and neglect, by anyone — staff, other residents, or visitors. · from a complaint
Dec 11, 2024	D · Potential for harm, one-off	The facility did not report suspected abuse, neglect, or theft to the proper authorities quickly enough, or did not report the results of its investigation. · from a complaint
Dec 11, 2024	D · Potential for harm, one-off	The facility did not respond appropriately to alleged violations, such as reports of abuse, neglect, or mistreatment. Facilities must investigate every allegation and protect residents while they do. · from a complaint
Dec 11, 2024	D · Potential for harm, one-off	The facility did not give residents (and their representatives and the ombudsman, a state advocate for residents) proper advance notice before a transfer or discharge, including information about their right to appeal. · from a complaint
Dec 11, 2024	D · Potential for harm, one-off	The facility allowed residents to lose the ability to do daily activities — like bathing, dressing, and eating — when there was no medical reason for the decline. Good care helps residents keep the abilities they have. · from a complaint
Dec 11, 2024	D · Potential for harm, one-off	The facility did not arrange hospice services for a resident who needed them, or help the resident move to a facility that could arrange hospice. Hospice provides comfort-focused care for people nearing the end of life. · from a complaint
Sep 25, 2023	D · Potential for harm, one-off	The facility did not keep the environment free of accident hazards, or did not provide enough supervision to prevent accidents like falls. · from a complaint
Jan 31, 2023	▲ G · Actual harm, one-off	The facility did not provide proper care for pressure ulcers (bedsores) or did not do enough to prevent new ones from forming. Bedsores develop when residents stay in one position too long without help moving.
Jan 31, 2023	E · Potential for harm, repeated	The facility did not provide the help residents need with basic daily activities — like bathing, dressing, eating, and using the bathroom — for residents who cannot do these things on their own.
Jan 31, 2023	E · Potential for harm, repeated	The facility did not employ enough qualified food and nutrition staff, including a qualified dietician, to properly run its food service.
Jan 31, 2023	E · Potential for harm, repeated	The facility did not get its food from approved, safe sources, or did not store, prepare, and serve food according to professional food safety standards.
Jan 31, 2023	D · Potential for harm, one-off	The facility did not develop a resident's complete plan of care within 7 days of the full assessment, or the plan wasn't prepared, reviewed, and updated by a team of health professionals as required.
Jan 31, 2023	D · Potential for harm, one-off	The facility did not provide appropriate care related to bladder and bowel needs — including care for residents who use catheters and steps to prevent urinary tract infections.
Jan 31, 2023	D · Potential for harm, one-off	The facility did not keep residents' medications free from unnecessary drugs. Residents should only take medicines they truly need, at the right dose, for a clear reason.
Jan 31, 2023	D · Potential for harm, one-off	The facility did not try to gradually reduce doses of mood- and mind-altering medications or use non-drug approaches first, as required, or used 'as needed' psychiatric drugs without proper limits.
Jul 12, 2021	F · Potential for harm, facility-wide	The facility did not keep its building and grounds safe, functional, clean, and comfortable for residents, staff, and visitors.
Jul 12, 2021	E · Potential for harm, repeated	The facility did not label drugs according to professional standards or did not store them in locked compartments, with controlled drugs (medications with a high risk of misuse) kept under a separate lock.
Jul 12, 2021	D · Potential for harm, one-off	The facility did not give the resident or their representative written notice of how long it would hold the resident's bed during a hospital stay or approved leave.
Jul 12, 2021	D · Potential for harm, one-off	When a resident had a planned discharge, the facility did not make sure the necessary information was communicated to the resident and to the doctors or facility taking over their care.
Jul 12, 2021	D · Potential for harm, one-off	The facility did not train its staff on dementia care and on recognizing and reporting abuse, neglect, and exploitation.

Inspection trend by year

Citations from standard inspections stayed about the same across the last two inspection cycles (8 → 8).

Year	Citations	Serious (G–L)	Worst severity that year
2021	5	0	F
2023	9	1	G ▲
2024	8	0	F

Counts reflect the current CMS public record (~3 inspection cycles plus complaint investigations); years with no surveys show no row. Inspection frequency varies, so compare severity as well as counts.

Fines and enforcement (last 3 years)

No fines or payment denials in the published 3-year window.

Nurse staffing (from payroll records, adjusted for how much care residents need)

Measure	This facility	Kansas avg	U.S. avg	Where it stands
Total nurse staffing (hours per resident per day)	3.54	4.58	3.95	bottom 17% in Kansas; bottom 38% in the U.S.
Registered Nurse hours	0.46	0.81	0.69	bottom 13% in Kansas; bottom 32% in the U.S.
Weekend total nurse staffing	3.17	4.05	3.50	bottom 19% in Kansas; bottom 40% in the U.S.
Weekend RN hours (not acuity-adjusted)	0.28	0.49	0.48	bottom 13% in Kansas; bottom 28% in the U.S.
Total nursing staff turnover (%)	47.2	48.1	45.8	top 50% in Kansas; bottom 44% in the U.S.
RN turnover (%)	40.0	42.0	42.9	top 48% in Kansas; top 46% in the U.S.

Hours are per resident per day, case-mix adjusted by CMS so facilities caring for sicker residents can be compared fairly (same basis as the CMS staffing star). "Top X%" means better than most facilities: more staffing hours, or lower turnover. Raw (unadjusted) reported hours: total 3.17, RN 0.41, weekend 2.84. Staffing rating: 3/5.

Self-reported quality measures

Note: these ratings are based on data the facility reports about itself to CMS. They are not independently verified by inspectors, and can look better than inspection findings. Give more weight to the inspection results above.

Quality measures rating: 4/5 · long-stay residents: 5/5 · short-stay residents: 3/5

Who owns this facility

For profit - Individual

Owner / manager	Type	Role	Stake	Since
Preston, Forrest	Individual	Indirect Ownership Interest	NOT APPLICABLE	04/01/2005
Cross, Cindy	Individual	Corporate Officer	NOT APPLICABLE	01/01/2006
Eklund, Amber	Individual	Managing Control - Governing Body	NOT APPLICABLE	08/16/2024
Eklund, Amber	Individual	Operational/Managerial Control	NOT APPLICABLE	08/16/2024
Fletcher, Todd	Individual	Operational/Managerial Control	NOT APPLICABLE	05/01/2021
Henry, Terry	Individual	Corporate Officer	NOT APPLICABLE	01/01/2006
Lay, Lisa	Individual	Operational/Managerial Control	NOT APPLICABLE	04/24/2017
Life Care Centers of America, INC.	Organization	Operational/Managerial Control	NOT APPLICABLE	04/01/2005
Life Care Centers of America, INC.	Organization	ADP of the SNF	NOT APPLICABLE	05/05/2005
O'Keefe, Damian	Individual	Managing Control - Governing Body	NOT APPLICABLE	03/13/2023
O'Keefe, Damian	Individual	Operational/Managerial Control	NOT APPLICABLE	03/13/2023
Preston, Aubrey	Individual	Operational/Managerial Control	NOT APPLICABLE	11/27/2024
Preston, Forrest	Individual	Operational/Managerial Control	NOT APPLICABLE	04/01/2005
Preston, Forrest	Individual	ADP of the SNF	NOT APPLICABLE	05/05/2005
Shepard, Elizabeth	Individual	Managing Control - Governing Body	NOT APPLICABLE	09/01/2022
Shepard, Elizabeth	Individual	Operational/Managerial Control	NOT APPLICABLE	09/01/2022
Shepard, Elizabeth	Individual	ADP of the SNF	NOT APPLICABLE	02/27/2025
Sloyer, Jeff	Individual	Operational/Managerial Control	NOT APPLICABLE	03/21/2019
Sloyer, Jeff	Individual	ADP of the SNF	NOT APPLICABLE	03/07/2025
Swanker, Richard	Individual	Operational/Managerial Control	NOT APPLICABLE	01/01/2022

Questions to ask on your visit

Generated from this facility's actual citation record — bring them to a tour and ask the administrator directly.

"How do you prevent bedsores for residents who can't move themselves, and how often are at-risk residents repositioned?"
"Do you have a qualified dietician on staff, and how involved are they in each resident's nutrition plan?"
"Who leads your infection prevention program, and how do you make sure staff follow practices like hand hygiene every day?"
"Tell me about this abuse or neglect citation — what happened, and what specific changes did you make afterward?"
"When abuse or theft is suspected, who do you notify, how fast, and how do you inform the family?"
"If someone reports suspected abuse or neglect here, what happens in the first 24 hours?"
"If you ever planned to discharge or transfer my family member, how much written notice would we receive and how could we appeal?"
"How do you help residents maintain their daily living skills, and how do you measure whether it's working?"
"What is your current ratio of nursing staff to residents on day, evening, and weekend shifts?"
"Can I see the results and plan of correction from your most recent state inspection?"

Nearby facilities (within 20 miles)

Facility	Distance	City	Overall	Inspection	Flags
Medicalodges Iola	26.6 mi	Iola, KS	★★☆☆☆	2/5
Anderson County Hospital LTCU	27.2 mi	Garnett, KS	★★★★★	4/5
Parkview Heights Nursing and Rehabilitation Center	27.9 mi	Garnett, KS	★★★★☆	4/5
Flint Hills Care and Rehabilitation Center	29.4 mi	Emporia, KS	★★★★☆	3/5
Richmond Healthcare & Rehab Center	29.7 mi	Richmond, KS	★☆☆☆☆	2/5
Osage Nursing & Rehabilitation Center	29.8 mi	Osage City, KS	★★☆☆☆	2/5
Emporia Presbyterian Manor	29.8 mi	Emporia, KS	★★★☆☆	3/5
Rock Creek of Ottawa	36.6 mi	Ottawa, KS	★★★☆☆	2/5
Moran Manor	36.7 mi	Moran, KS	★★★☆☆	3/5
Heritage Health Care Center	39.2 mi	Chanute, KS	★★☆☆☆	2/5	abuse
Eureka Nursing Center	39.7 mi	Eureka, KS	★★☆☆☆	2/5

Compare this facility with the 3 closest →

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Facility data as of CMS processing date 2026-08-01. CCN 175373.

The Care File

Visit checklist — Life Care Center of Burlington

601 Cross Street, Burlington, KS 66839 · 6203642117

Health inspection rating 3/5 · CMS overall 3/5· Fines (3y): $0

Most serious findings on record:

▲ Jan 31, 2023 (F-0686, Actual harm, one-off): The facility did not provide proper care for pressure ulcers (bedsores) or did not do enough to prevent new ones from forming. Bedsores develop when residents stay in one position too long without help moving.

Questions for the administrator:

☐ "How do you prevent bedsores for residents who can't move themselves, and how often are at-risk residents repositioned?"
☐ "Do you have a qualified dietician on staff, and how involved are they in each resident's nutrition plan?"
☐ "Who leads your infection prevention program, and how do you make sure staff follow practices like hand hygiene every day?"
☐ "Tell me about this abuse or neglect citation — what happened, and what specific changes did you make afterward?"
☐ "When abuse or theft is suspected, who do you notify, how fast, and how do you inform the family?"
☐ "If someone reports suspected abuse or neglect here, what happens in the first 24 hours?"
☐ "If you ever planned to discharge or transfer my family member, how much written notice would we receive and how could we appeal?"
☐ "How do you help residents maintain their daily living skills, and how do you measure whether it's working?"
☐ "What is your current ratio of nursing staff to residents on day, evening, and weekend shifts?"
☐ "Can I see the results and plan of correction from your most recent state inspection?"

While you're there, notice:

☐ Smell and cleanliness in hallways, not just the lobby
☐ How staff speak to residents; call lights answered promptly
☐ Residents up, dressed, and engaged (visit mealtimes and a weekend if you can)

Data: CMS Provider Data Catalog, version 2026-08-01 · CCN 175373 · Verify at medicare.gov/care-compare · Printed from The Care File (thecarefile.com)