Lone Tree Retirement: Food Safety Violations - KS
The August 21 complaint inspection turned up a single deficiency, tagged F0812 and rated at the level of minimal harm or potential for actual harm. The violation centered on the kitchen: when staff removed food items from their original containers, those items were not being placed into airtight containers and were not being marked with a received date or an open date.
The facility's own written policy, dated January 10, 2025, said the kitchen would be kept clean and organized. The policy on food handling and preparation required that any item taken out of original packaging be labeled and stored in an airtight container, with the date it was received or opened clearly marked.
Neither requirement was being met.
Unlabeled food creates a specific and traceable problem in a long-term care kitchen. Without an open date, staff have no reliable way to know how long a product has been out of its original container. Food that has spoiled or exceeded a safe holding window can look and smell fine. The residents eating that food, many of them elderly and with compromised immune systems, are among the most vulnerable to the consequences of foodborne illness.
The inspection was triggered by a complaint, not a routine survey. That means someone, whether a resident, a family member, or a staff member, contacted regulators with a concern specific enough to send inspectors to 801 East Grant Street.
The report does not identify which food items were found improperly stored, how long the practice had been going on, or whether any resident became ill. What it does say is that the problem was widespread enough that inspectors categorized the number of residents affected as many.
Lone Tree Retirement operates as the long-term care unit of Meade District Hospital, a small rural facility in Meade County in southwestern Kansas. For residents in a community this size, it is often the only local option for long-term nursing care. Family members who want to visit regularly, who want to be present and paying attention, may not have another facility within a reasonable drive.
The facility's own paperwork acknowledged what was required. The January 2025 policy existed. The standard was written down. Inspectors found it wasn't being followed.
CMS assigned the deficiency its lower harm tier, meaning inspectors did not find evidence that residents had been injured as a result. But the tier also explicitly includes potential for actual harm, which is precisely the concern with improperly stored and unlabeled food in a facility serving a medically vulnerable population.
The plan of correction, if one was submitted, is not included in the publicly available inspection document. For that information, CMS directs the public to contact the nursing home or the Kansas state survey agency directly.
What the record shows is a kitchen that was not operating the way the facility's own written standards required, food going into storage without the basic markings that allow staff to know what they are serving and how long it has been sitting, and a complaint serious enough that federal inspectors drove to Meade to look.
The residents eating those meals did not know what was in the containers or how long it had been there. Neither, without the labels, did the staff serving it.
Full Inspection Report
The details above represent a summary of key findings. View the complete inspection report for Meade District Hosp Ltcu Dba Lone Tree Retirement from 2025-08-21 including all violations, facility responses, and corrective action plans.
Additional Resources
Data source: This article is based on inspection data downloaded directly from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) via Medicare.gov. CMS releases inspection reports in bulk; we publish the findings as documented by state surveyors in the official Form CMS-2567 Statement of Deficiencies.
Plan of correction: The CMS report we receive does not include the facility's plan of correction. Facilities submit plans of correction separately to state survey agencies and those responses may not be reflected in CMS data at the time of publication. The absence of a plan of correction in our data does not mean one was not filed. Readers who want information about corrective steps taken are encouraged to contact the facility directly or their state survey agency.
Corrections may have occurred: Inspection reports reflect conditions observed on the date of the survey. Facilities may have implemented corrections, staffing changes, additional training, or other remediation since the report was issued. We report what CMS provides and encourage readers to seek current information from the facility.
Editorial process: Inspection findings are extracted from CMS source documents and synthesized using AI, reviewed for factual accuracy against the original report by our editorial team.
Corrections: We strive for accuracy in everything we publish. If you believe any fact in this article is incorrect, please contact us with details, and we will review and correct it promptly.
Professional review: All content reviewed by Christopher F. Nesbitt, Sr., NH EMT & BU-trained Paralegal.
Last verified: October 13, 2026 · Our methodology
MEADE DISTRICT HOSP LTCU DBA LONE TREE RETIREMENT in MEADE, KS was cited for violations during a health inspection on August 21, 2025.
The August 21 complaint inspection turned up a single deficiency, tagged F0812 and rated at the level of minimal harm or potential for actual harm.
Health inspections identify deficiencies that facilities must correct. Violations range from minor documentation issues to serious safety concerns. Review the full report below for specific details and facility response.