Meeker Nursing Center: Lift Safety Failures Cited - OK
That was the finding inspectors documented during a September 11 complaint inspection at the 500 North Dawson Street facility. A certified nursing assistant identified in the report as CNA #4 told inspectors that education at the facility was "usually CNA to CNA." Asked whether there had been any formal lift training when they were hired, CNA #4 said there may have been, but they did not remember.
What prompted the inspection was an incident involving a resident. After it occurred, a charge nurse conducted education with CNA #4 on the spot. The correction came after the fact, not before.
The director of nursing, asked how the facility determined which residents required a mechanical lift, described a system that relied largely on word of mouth. If a resident had therapy, the therapist would communicate the need. For residents who were non-weight bearing or bedbound, staff would use a lift. Whether that information appeared on the Kardex, the bedside reference card CNAs use during their shift, the director was not sure. "They usually communicated amongst themself regarding who required a lift and who did not," the director told inspectors.
That is a meaningful gap. A CNA arriving for a shift, consulting a Kardex that may or may not reflect a resident's actual mobility status, and relying on informal hallway communication to fill in the rest, is working without a reliable safety net. Mechanical lifts exist precisely because transferring a non-weight bearing resident without one creates serious risk of injury, to the resident and to the staff member doing the lifting.
The director's explanation for why staff were competent with lifts despite the informal training culture was that CNAs arrive already certified. "They usually knew how to use them when they were hired since they have a certification," the director said. The facility did conduct an initial competency check-off for new hires, with a nurse reviewing a checklist that the director believed included mechanical lifts.
Believed. The director was not certain.
Asked about care plan updates and lift assessments, the director did not describe a current, functioning system. "They were working on getting them all caught up," the director told inspectors.
Care plans are the documents that govern how staff interact with each resident, what assistance they need, what equipment is required, what precautions apply. When lift assessments are not current, a CNA has no reliable written guidance telling them whether the person they are about to transfer can bear any weight at all. The informal communication the director described, staff telling each other who needs a lift and who does not, is what fills that gap. It filled it imperfectly enough that an incident occurred and triggered a complaint inspection.
CMS rated the deficiency as causing minimal harm or potential for actual harm, and noted few residents were affected. The formal tag is F0689, which covers the obligation to protect residents from accidents the facility could reasonably anticipate and prevent.
The director of nursing, describing the facility's lift education program, said a nurse reviewed a checklist with new staff. CNA #4, describing the same program, remembered something different, or did not remember it at all. Between those two accounts is the actual training that happened, or did not happen, before a resident needed to be moved and something went wrong.
The care plans, the director said, were being caught up. The inspection was completed September 11, 2025.
Full Inspection Report
The details above represent a summary of key findings. View the complete inspection report for Meeker Nursing Center from 2025-09-11 including all violations, facility responses, and corrective action plans.
Additional Resources
Data source: Official federal inspection data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).
Editorial process: AI-synthesized regulatory data, reviewed for accuracy by our editorial team.
Professional review: All content reviewed by Christopher F. Nesbitt, Sr., NH EMT & BU-trained Paralegal.
Last verified: June 29, 2026 · Our methodology
MEEKER NURSING CENTER in MEEKER, OK was cited for violations during a health inspection on September 11, 2025.
That was the finding inspectors documented during a September 11 complaint inspection at the 500 North Dawson Street facility.
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.