ST. LOUIS — Just days before Christmas, hundreds of nursing home residents and workers were suddenly forced out of St. Louis’ largest nursing home. They left with nothing but the clothes on their backs.
“It was devastation," said Carolyn Hawthorne, a former Northview Village worker.
“Sometimes, I just bust out crying," said another former worker who did not wish to be identified.
“It was horrible … I feel disgusted. I feel terrible," said Tyron Gant, another former employee. He has yet to be paid for his vacation time - about $800. He worked at Northview Village doing laundry.
“I was getting paid $13 an hour for 11 years," Gant said.
One Friday, he stopped getting a paycheck.
“I'm talking about the leadership from the top dropped the ball tremendously," Gant said. "The owner is at fault, but the people he had in charge were totally negligent.”
Government records show two families owned the majority of the nursing home. The Makhlouf Suissa family and the Rothner family owned the majority of Northview Village.
The I-Team's emails, calls and text messages to the owners and their attorneys went unanswered. We kept asking the question on everyone’s mind: Where is the money going?
“It's not coming to us, the people that work," Gant said.
Government records show the owners of Northview Village funneled millions of Medicare and Medicaid dollars intended for workers and residents into other companies they own. Public documents show money went to things like “lease” payments, “home office” expenses and “therapy” services. Exactly how the money was used is a mystery. Critics said nursing home owners using taxpayer money to pay themselves with virtually no accountability is common.
“You dedicate yourself to your work, and this is the thanks you get," Gant said.
“There needs to be greater, greater, transparency and disclosure in how this money is used," said Sam Brooks, public policy director at the National Consumer Voice for Quality Long Term Care, a nonprofit advocating for better care at nursing homes.
Brooks said the lack of financial transparency in the industry allows for potential misuse of funds. The consequences can be dire.
“This nursing home failed because it didn't have enough money to pay staff. And when you can't pay staff, you can't run a nursing home," he said.
Lisa Cox, a spokesperson with the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, confirmed that Northview Village shut down because it did not have enough money to pay staff. She said her organization is in communication with the owners of Northview Village and Salem Village Nursing and Rehab to discuss the operations of those facilities.
A report from the Missouri Department of Health and Human Services, released in late January, cited the financial trouble that prompted the closure at Northview Village. That afternoon, the nursing home administrator told an inspector that one of the owners “refused to pay staff, and said he did not have the money," the report said.
Gant and other former employees we talked with are now part of a new lawsuit. It alleges the owners of Northview Village broke federal law when they shut down without notice. The owners have not responded to the lawsuit.
“Because if it happens to Northview, it can happen to any nursing home facility," Hawthorne said.
The I-Team found the owners of Northview Village own a handful of other nursing homes in the St. Louis area. SEIU Healthcare Missouri State Director Lenny Jones said another nursing home in the area owned by the same owners of Northview Village is Salem Village Nursing and Rehab in Joliet, Illinois. That nursing home is also closing, but workers and residents got appropriate notice of 60 days. The owners of the facility followed federal and state rules when it comes to closing a facility.
The other nursing homes with the same owners as Northview Village include:
Grand Manor Nursing and Rehabilitation, 3645 Cook Ave., St. Louis, MO 63113.
Elmwood Nursing and Rehab, 152 Wilma Drive, Maryville, IL 62062.
Edwardsville Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, 401 St Mary Drive, Edwardsville, IL 62025.
University Care Center - Edwardsville, 1095 University Drive, Edwardsville, IL 62025.
Salem Village Nursing and Rehab, 1314 Rowell Ave., Joliet, IL 60433.
Cori Manor Nursing and Rehab, 560 Corisande Hills Road, Fenton, MO 63026.
In response to the I-Team's investigation, a government spokesperson has acknowledged the lack of transparency in the nursing home industry, but there have been no recent moves to increase financial scrutiny.
We reached out to a spokesperson at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), which oversees nursing homes and distributes federal funding. We asked about what’s being done to increase accountability and financial transparency among nursing homes, and prevent sudden closures. A spokesperson told us:
“CMS is committed to improving the quality of care and quality of life for all nursing home residents. Patient health and safety, access to reliable, high-quality care and the treatment of all residents in nursing homes with dignity and respect are top priorities… In November, CMS finalized a rule that requires greater transparency of nursing home ownership. The final rule empowers nursing home residents and their families to make informed decisions about care and to hold nursing homes accountable for the service they provide by requiring nursing homes to disclose additional ownership and management information to CMS and states and making this information public. It has become increasingly important to scrutinize ownership arrangements as recent studies — including research released recently by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation — show that private equity ownership is associated with poorer staffing conditions and resulting decreases in quality of care. These actions continue to build on the Biden-Harris Administration’s unwavering commitment to improving the safety and quality of care in the nation’s nursing homes and President Biden’s historic Executive Order on Promoting Competition in the American Economy.”
If you'd like to get in touch with our I-Team, leave a voice message at 314-444-5231 or email Paula Vasan directly at tips@ksdk.com. All calls and correspondence will be kept confidential.