FESTUS, Mo. — Missouri faces a troubling trend as multiple large nursing homes in the state have closed within the past year, displacing residents.
The closure of Festus Manor is part of the broader crisis. Over the past year, advocates for nursing home residents said five major facilities in the state have shut down, starting with Northview Village in St. Louis.
Northview Village closed suddenly on Dec. 15 as the company that owned it struggled to meet its financial obligations.
Nursing home resident advocates said the problem remains the same: poor care, lack of compliance, and hundreds of residents—many with mental health needs—being left without homes.
“Residents are having unresolved bed sores, medication is being mismanaged," said Marjorie Moore, executive director of VOYCE, an organization that advocates for nursing home residents.
Moore said this newly announced closure is not surprising.
“This isn't a facility that a lot of people would want to put their loved ones in," she said.
5 On Your Side emailed and called the nursing home directly; they declined comment.
Festus Manor’s residents now face an uncertain future.
The people living there have up to a month to find new homes. It highlights the increasing pressure on Missouri’s already strained long-term care system.
A notice from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said Festus Manor failed to meet compliance standards, leading to the termination of its Medicare and Medicaid funding. Medicare.gov lists the facility as a one-star nursing home with a history of abuse citations.
“Missouri has the smallest number of hours of care per day, per resident, of any state in the country. And this facility had a number even lower than that," Moore said.
The facility’s ownership, Festus MO Opco LLC, is a for-profit company. Moore said ownership among private equity and other companies is increasingly common in Missouri nursing homes, often prioritizing profit over residents’ care.
This comes as the Department of Justice has criticized Missouri for placing people with mental health needs in underperforming nursing homes instead of other settings, like community-based care. The report released this summer said these residents often don’t get the help they need.
Missouri is one of 20 states suing to block new federal staffing rules for nursing homes, a move some warn could worsen the crisis.
If you’ve been impacted by recent nursing home closures and need support, call VOYCE at 314-918-8222. You can email info@voycestl.org.
