COLUMBIA, Mo. — One individual continues to be lacking every week after the abrupt closure of St. Louis’ largest nursing dwelling left roughly 170 residents scattered at new amenities all through the town, a state well being division spokeswoman confirmed Friday.

Many sufferers left with nothing however the garments they had been carrying when Northview Village Nursing Home shuttered with out warning final week, creating confusion and spurring outrage amongst residents and their households.

St. Louis police have been alerted concerning the closing resident who stays unaccounted for, Health and Senior Services Department spokesperson Lisa Cox stated in a Friday e-mail.

Cox stated Northview Village additionally has surrendered its license to function, which is able to finish the corporate’s contracts with Medicare and Medicaid.

An individual answering the telephone stated employees of Healthcare Accounting Services, which owns Northview Village and a number of other different St. Louis residential houses, are gone for the vacations and declined to offer e-mail addresses for firm leaders.

One of Northview’s homeowners, Mark Suissa, instructed the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that the state wasn’t paying sufficient to maintain the ability afloat and laid blame on employees, who didn't obtain paychecks the day the house closed.

“Of course I would have done it a different way,” he stated of the closure. “I have other partners also involved. But unfortunately, that’s the way it happened.”

The union representing employees has stated the corporate began to shut the house and bus away residents after employees raised considerations about not being paid.

Levare Westbrook instructed the Post-Dispatch that he misplaced monitor of his 82-year-old mom, who has dementia, for greater than two days after the house shut down.

“I did a whole lot of cursing until I finally found her,” he stated.

Northview Village has been fined 12 instances for federal violations since March 2021, in keeping with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Fines totaled over $140,000 and ranged from $2,200 to greater than $45,000. The federal company offers Northview a one-star score out of a attainable 5 however doesn’t spell out causes for the fines.

In addition, the state well being division web site lists practically two dozen Northview investigations since 2016. The most up-to-date grievance, from February, stated a resident was capable of get out of the constructing via an unsecured door. A 2021 grievance alleged the ability failed to analyze claims that residents left the nursing dwelling and introduced medication into it.

——-

Researcher Rhonda Shafner contributed from New York.

Copyright © 2023 The Washington Times, LLC.

Content Source: www.washingtontimes.com