Southwest Medical Center SNF
315 W 15th Street, Liberal, KS 67905 · Seward County · 18 certified beds · avg 3 residents/day · certified since Jul 31, 1987
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.
All citations in the current public record (15)
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Apr 22, 2026 | F · Potential for harm, facility-wide | The facility did not have a registered nurse on duty at least 8 hours a day, or did not have a registered nurse serving full-time as director of nursing. |
| Apr 22, 2026 | 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. |
| Apr 22, 2026 | E · Potential for harm, repeated | The facility did not create and follow a basic care plan covering a new resident's most immediate needs within 48 hours of admission. The first days are when a new resident is most vulnerable. |
| Apr 22, 2026 | 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. |
| Apr 22, 2026 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not let a resident help develop and carry out their own plan of care — the written roadmap of the services and support they'll receive, built around their personal goals and preferences. |
| Apr 22, 2026 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not provide required paperwork or notices about a resident's needs, their right to appeal a transfer or discharge, or the facility's bed-hold policy (how long a bed is saved during a hospital stay). |
| Apr 22, 2026 | D · Potential for 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. |
| Apr 22, 2026 | C · Minimal risk, facility-wide | The facility did not electronically submit complete and accurate staffing information to the government, based on payroll and other verifiable records. |
| Jun 12, 2024 | F · Potential for harm, facility-wide | 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. |
| Jun 12, 2024 | F · Potential for harm, facility-wide | The facility did not dispose of garbage and refuse properly. |
| Jun 12, 2024 | F · Potential for harm, facility-wide | The facility did not electronically submit complete and accurate staffing information to the government, based on payroll and other verifiable records. |
| Jun 12, 2024 | F · Potential for harm, facility-wide | The facility did not make sure its nurse aides had the skills needed to care for residents, including training in dementia care and abuse prevention. |
| Jun 12, 2024 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not fully assess residents on time — a complete assessment of health, abilities, and needs is required when a resident is first admitted and at least once every 12 months after that. |
| Jun 12, 2024 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | 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. |
| Jun 12, 2024 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not develop and follow policies and procedures for offering residents flu and pneumonia vaccinations. |
Inspection trend by year
Citations from standard inspections stayed about the same across the last two inspection cycles (7 → 8).
| Year | Citations | Serious (G–L) | Worst severity that year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 7 | 0 | F |
| 2026 | 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) | 0.00 | 4.58 | 3.95 | — |
| Registered Nurse hours | 0.00 | 0.81 | 0.69 | — |
| Weekend total nurse staffing | 0.00 | 4.05 | 3.50 | — |
| Weekend RN hours (not acuity-adjusted) | 0.00 | 0.49 | 0.48 | — |
| Total nursing staff turnover (%) | 0.0 | 48.1 | 45.8 | — |
| RN turnover (%) | 0.0 | 42.0 | 42.9 | — |
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 0.00, RN 0.00, weekend 0.00. Staffing rating: —/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: 3/5 · long-stay residents: —/5 · short-stay residents: 3/5
Who owns this facility
Government - County
| Owner / manager | Type | Role | Stake | Since |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cain, Sandra | Individual | W-2 Managing Employee | NOT APPLICABLE | 05/01/2021 |
| Cowan, Mark | Individual | W-2 Managing Employee | NOT APPLICABLE | 05/01/2015 |
| Cowan, Mark | Individual | Corporate Officer | NOT APPLICABLE | 05/01/2015 |
| Knudsen, Dennis | Individual | Corporate Director | NOT APPLICABLE | 04/01/2022 |
| Lara, Jose | Individual | Corporate Director | NOT APPLICABLE | 04/01/2021 |
| Love, Ivanhoe | Individual | Corporate Director | NOT APPLICABLE | 03/18/2018 |
| McKee, Tony | Individual | Corporate Director | NOT APPLICABLE | 04/01/2022 |
| Moree, Keeley | Individual | W-2 Managing Employee | NOT APPLICABLE | 06/01/2019 |
| Noblejas, Maria | Individual | Corporate Director | NOT APPLICABLE | 07/01/2021 |
| Sander, Dennis | Individual | Corporate Director | NOT APPLICABLE | 04/01/2015 |
| West, John | Individual | Corporate Director | NOT APPLICABLE | 04/01/2022 |
| Williams, Amber | Individual | W-2 Managing Employee | NOT APPLICABLE | 07/01/1997 |
| Williams, Amber | Individual | Corporate Director | NOT APPLICABLE | 09/28/2014 |
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 many hours a day is a registered nurse physically in the building, including weekends?"
- "Who leads your infection prevention program, and how do you make sure staff follow practices like hand hygiene every day?"
- "What does the care plan for a brand-new resident cover in the first 48 hours, and who writes it?"
- "Can you show me how medications are stored and secured on the units, including controlled drugs?"
- "How are residents and families included in care plan meetings, and how often do those meetings happen?"
- "What written notices do we get before any transfer or discharge, and what is your bed-hold policy?"
- "How do you prevent bedsores for residents who can't move themselves, and how often are at-risk residents repositioned?"
- "How do your actual daily staffing levels compare to what's reported on Medicare's Care Compare website?"
- "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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wheatridge Park Care Center | 0.8 mi | Liberal, KS | ★☆☆☆☆ | 1/5 | |
| Good Samaritan-Liberal | 0.9 mi | Liberal, KS | ★★☆☆☆ | 1/5 |
Compare this facility with the 2 closest →
Facility data as of CMS processing date 2026-08-01. CCN 175163.