OXFORD, Kan. (KSNW) — The Kansas Department of Aging and Disability Services is looking into a nursing home in Oxford, located in Sumner County after complaints of no proper air conditioning.

Sara Hinkle said her grandma dealt with this during her stay at ANEW Healthcare six years ago and believes it contributed to her decline in health. 

Hinkle’s grandmother, Peggy, passed away in 2018. 

NewsNation local affiliate KSN also spoke with someone who works at the facility. They didn’t want to go on camera but told KSN this is an issue that residents and staff are still dealing with. 

Hinkle believes the central air system, which she said was broken six years ago, has not been addressed and that residents and workers are still dealing with it currently. 

“Eighty-eight, 82, it’s hot, very hot, it gets very hot. Residents have complained, staff’s complained,” said Hinkle. 

KDADS said nursing facilities in Kansas must keep an air conditioning system year-round, and they are required to keep temperatures between 70 and 85 degrees. 

Workers shared these images with KSN, an employee record sheet, which shows multiple rooms above that standard on two separate checks in June of this year:

Photos shared of a thermostat did indicate temperatures at 81, within the state requirement:

KSN reached out to the home’s supervisor, who declined to do an interview and said they did not have a comment at that time. 

Additionally, KSN reached out to KDADS, who said, “We are aware of it, yes,” but did not give more details on the investigation. 

Hinkle believes they’ve yet to properly address the problem. 

“They were going to get the air conditioning fixed, and that’s all they keep saying, nothing ever happens,” she said.

Hinkle is worried about not only the residents living there but the employees who work there as well. 

“I can only imagine what it feels like working in the kitchen, cooking the food. I just don’t want something to happen that happens like us, with my family,” she said.

KDADS did not give a timeframe for their investigation. 

An employee did say that some A/C units have been added, but that many rooms are still above the 85-degree state requirement. 

Hinkle hopes people will check on their older relatives in this heat, no matter where they are, to make sure they are doing well.