A Buchanan County jury has ruled against Heartland/Mosaic in a wrongful death lawsuit.

James Sullwold of St. Joseph filed a personal injury malpractice suit in 2015 against Heartland Regional Medical Center/Mosaic Life Care, on behalf of his late wife, Lois Sullwold.  Monday, jurors decided against the hospital and awarded Sullwold more than $7.2 million in punitive damages.

Tuesday night Mosaic Life Care released a statement and said it plans to appeal the verdict. Here is the statement in its entirety:

“Every day, the nurses and doctors at Mosaic Life Care provide high-quality, compassionate care for our patients. Our safety standards have been recognized nationally by government entities such as the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services with a Five-Star Quality Rating, Truven and Healthgrades. Our employees adhere to rigorous training to keep up to date on the latest in health-care education.

As reported, Mosaic Life Care was notified of a plaintiff verdict in a trial with a former patient. Mosaic Life Care will be filing an appeal based on extenuating circumstances surrounding the case.

We take patient safety and quality care seriously and will continue our strong commitment to safety measures. Our employees have our highest confidence and we are proud of their dedication to the communities they serve every day.”

 

The Maysville School District has issued a statement after a teacher was accused of inappropriately touching students.

As previously reported, Rodney Thomas, 39, of Cameron is charged in DeKalb County with nine felony counts of sexual contact with a student, one felony for first-degree sodomy or attempted sodomy, one felony for second-degree statutory sodomy, seven felonies for attempted enticement of a child, and two felonies for enticement or attempted enticement of a child.

The Maysville School District R-1, in a press release, said it is aware of the recent criminal charges filed.

“The staff member has been placed on administrative leave and has not been permitted on District property since the District first received notice of the allegations. The District will continue to cooperate with law enforcement and to provide support for students throughout this process.

The District values the security and safety of all students, and continues to encourage students and parents to report any incidents of inappropriate contact by an adult so it can take prompt and necessary action. The District has board policies in place that specifically prohibit inappropriate verbal and physical contact between its employees and students. The District will continue to rigorously enforce its policies to protect its students.”

Thomas has been arrested and is being held on $150,000 bail.  Conditions of posting bail include no contact with Maysville school students.

 

A teacher in northwest Missouri is facing 20 felony charges for allegedly touching several girls inappropriately.

Rodney Thomas, 39 of Cameron is charged in DeKalb County with nine felony counts of sexual contact with a student, one felony for first-degree sodomy or attempted sodomy, one felony for second-degree statutory sodomy, seven felonies for attempted enticement of a child, and two felonies for enticement or attempted enticement of a child. Charges listed dates from 2014 to 2017.

According to court documents, Thomas is a Maysville Jr. High math teacher and wrestling coach.

In February, the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office said it was contacted by Maysville R-1 School District Superintendent, Dr. Robert Smith, in reference to allegations of one of the teachers at the school inappropriately touching students.

The court documents allege 10 female victims ranging in age of 13 to 17 and two witnesses were interviewed by the Northwest Children’s Advocacy Center in St. Joseph. All of whom are or were students in the district.

Thomas has been arrested is being held on $150,000 bail.  Conditions of posting bail include no contact with Maysville school students.

Thomas is currently still employed with the district but has been suspended for the duration of the investigation.  The district plans to release a statement at a later time.

 

As Sayler and Hannah walk down the halls of Mosaic Life Care in St. Joseph, they greet doctors and patients with smiles and a wag of their tails.

Sayler is a Golden Retriever and Hannah is a black Havanese, a smaller dog who likes to be carried around by her handler and owner, Carol Porter.

Sayler’s handler, Dawn Younger, said she, Carol and Hannah have been making weekly visits to Mosaic since January after being certified through Pet Partners.

“We love it,” Younger said. “She knows when I get that vest out that this is where we’re going and she loves it.”

Both pets and their handlers can pass a course through Pet Partners to be certified to make visits. Younger said the training Sayler went through to be a therapy dog included a lot of repetition and basic obedience.

“Sit, down, they have to stay at the end of a long leash without you for a certain period of time,” Younger said. “They have to be comfortable around wheelchairs, patients that may not be able to walk well or shaky patients that may not pet them like a normal, healthy adult.”

As Sayler and Hannah make their rounds on the pediatric and oncology floors and make stops in the family surgery and Intensive Care Unit waiting rooms adults and children alike smile at the dogs, pet them and begin talking about missing their own pets.

“Especially the long-term people that are here,” Younger said. “Whether it’s visitors or patients themselves, it helps them to forget why they’re here, whether it’s someone is not doing well or an accident, it just takes them away from it, temporarily, and that’s what I enjoy.” 

Younger works the rest of the week in a medical office doing medical billing and said she wanted to get involved with pet therapy to spend more time with her dog. When Carol is not making visits with Hannah at Mosaic, she works as an insurance agent in St. Joseph. She said she and Hannah enjoy making people smile with their visits and one of her favorite memories so far was when they were leaving from a visit.

“There was a lady walking in and you could tell that she was not happy and Hannah ‘smiled’ at her and she stopped, reached over and petted her and smiled back and didn’t say a word but that smile on that lady just struck me as, that’s why we’re here.”

Anyone interested in learning more about Pet Partners can call the ambassador at Mosaic at (816) 271-8814 or click here.

The Livingston County Sheriff’s Office said a suspect was hospitalized over the weekend after allegedly swallowing dope after a traffic stop.

Sheriff Steve Cox said Saturday shortly before 7:30 p.m. a deputy was in Utica and saw a suspicious vehicle with out of state tags. The vehicle briefly eluded the deputy and was then stopped for a traffic violation. Cox said two men, both wanted on probation parole violations were inside the car.

“The driver was found to be in possession of alleged methamphetamine as a baggy was placed on the hood of the car,” Cox said. “The suspect was being arrested when he reportedly resisted arrest, grabbed the baggy and then swallowed it.”

Cox said the suspect continued to resist arrest and was eventually handcuffed and then taken to Hedrick Medical Center for treatment after swallowing the baggy. The man was later transferred to a Kansas City hospital for further treatment.

“A report is being submitted to the prosecuting attorney and probation/parole,” Cox said.

(Update 4:50 p.m.) – I-29 traffic is back to normal travel after a crash involving a Trooper.

Sgt. Jake Angle with the Missouri State Highway Patrol said around 12 p.m. dispatch was notified of a person driving a small red car careless and imprudently on northbound I-29 around the 40 mile marker. A few minutes later, around 12:05 p.m. Angle said Frederick Kline of Faucett who was driving the 2002 Red Saturn Ion drove into the rear of 2015 F-150 being operated by Trooper Dustin Lyle of St. Joseph.

“That vehicle struck the rear of the 2015 Ford F-150 causing the driver to lose control, travel through the median and overturn onto the driver’s side. The striking vehicle, also traveled through the median and came to rest on its wheels,” Angle said.

Kline was transported to Mosaic Life Care for treatment of what was described as serious injuries. Lyle was treated and released for minor injuries.

Sgt. Angle said Trooper Lyle was not looking for the vehicle at the time of the crash but was just driving northbound on I-29 when the incident took place.

Traffic was slowed for nearly five hours in the area. Angle said the crash is still under investigation by the MSHP crash team.

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(Update 4 p.m.) Traffic backed up for several hours on I-29 south of St. Joseph as crews work crash.

Patrick Kane was driving in the area and reported to the St. Joseph Post that both south and northbound traffic moving slow after a crash on I-29 near the 41 mile marker. Kane said there appeared to be a two vehicles involved in the crash. As of 1:15 p.m. traffic was slow going in both north and southbound lanes. Shortly before 4 p.m. traffic was still backed up in that area.

Sgt. Jake Angle with the Missouri State Highway Patrol said a crash team is investigating.  The number of people injured and severity of injuries was not readily available.

As we learn more we will update this post.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Three-year-old twins are dead after apparently wandering into a pond in Missouri.

According to reports, the twins’ father woke up Monday morning and realized the children were missing from their home in Platte County.

Platte County Undersheriff Maj. Erik Holland reports both toddlers were found in the pond, the girl was found first and was rushed to a local hospital where she later died. Responders did not immediately see the boy until a dive team was called in.

He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Holland says they are investigating but don’t have anything that indicates anything other than an accident.

The private pond sits behind a few houses, including the one were the children lived.

The Kansas City Star reports that father called 911 twice. Neighbors also called.