Apple Ridge Care Center: Phone Access Violations - MO
That's how it has worked for about a year, since the facility switched to a new phone system and lost the one cordless phone that residents could carry somewhere private.
A December 2025 inspection, triggered by a complaint, documented what daily life looks like without it.
A staff member described the situation plainly to inspectors. When a resident is using the nurses' office phone, staff have to secure any private paperwork and stand outside the door. They try to give the resident some privacy, but the door stays open a crack so staff can keep an eye on things. Which means they can still hear the conversation.
Residents can only use the phone when staff aren't busy. Staff are usually busy from 8:30 in the morning until 10:00. That's an hour and a half every morning when a resident who wants to call a family member, a doctor, a lawyer, or anyone else has to wait.
The same staff member told inspectors there was a reported cutoff time at night, 9:00 P.M., after which residents couldn't use the phone. He or she had never seen that in writing, and typically left before then, so couldn't confirm it firsthand. But other staff had mentioned it.
"If there was a portable phone it would be way more convenient," the staff member said, "and residents could take it with them. They could talk any time then."
The Director of Nursing told inspectors on December 18 that residents should be able to use the phone whenever they want. No time limits, no restrictions. She acknowledged there had been one LPN who needed to be educated about that policy, but said as far as she knew, residents were using the phone when they needed to. She hadn't heard otherwise.
The administrator said the same thing. No restrictions. Residents just need to let staff know they want privacy, and staff will clear out of the office and wait in the hall.
Then he or she explained what happened to the cordless phone.
About a year ago, the facility moved to a new phone system. The cordless phone residents had been using, the one they could carry to a private area, didn't carry over. The administrator said he or she had asked corporate about getting a replacement. Corporate said no. The administrator didn't know why.
That was a year ago. The cordless phone has not been replaced.
So the official policy, as described by both the Director of Nursing and the administrator, is that residents have unrestricted phone access any time they want. The actual situation, as described by the staff member who works the floor, is that residents share one phone at the nurses' station, can only use it when staff are free, and have no way to take a call somewhere nobody else can hear.
The inspection cited this under a federal tag covering residents' rights to private communication, rated at minimal harm or potential for actual harm, affecting some residents.
Inspectors noted the facility had no cordless phone and no clear plan to get one. The administrator's request to corporate had gone nowhere. The staff member who spoke with inspectors put it simply: a portable phone would fix the problem. Residents could call whenever they wanted, and they could do it without an audience.
A year after the old phone system was retired, nobody at the corporate level had said yes.
Full Inspection Report
The details above represent a summary of key findings. View the complete inspection report for Apple Ridge Care Center from 2025-12-19 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 19, 2026 · Our methodology
APPLE RIDGE CARE CENTER in WAVERLY, MO was cited for violations during a health inspection on December 19, 2025.
A December 2025 inspection, triggered by a complaint, documented what daily life looks like without it.
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.