VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — A Virginia nursing home indicated in a letter, obtained by CBS 6, that it plans to close following extreme enforcement action from the federal government in response to serious, repeated violations of care and safety standards that occurred at the facility. However, the state health department has suggested another solution may be in the works that could keep the facility open.
Robert Leidig said he was shocked when he first learned through CBS 6's reporting that his wife's nursing home, Princess Anne Health and Rehabilitation Center in Virginia Beach, was potentially shutting down.
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Va. nursing home at risk of shutting down after 'extremely rare' federal action
“Dismayed, infuriated. It's hard to express, because it's like, you just got popped upside the head," Leidig said about his reaction to the news.
Last month, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the federal agency that regulates nursing homes, published a notice that it was terminating Princess Anne's provider agreement as of August 27 due to its "failure to meet Medicare’s basic health and safety requirements." That means the facility will stop receiving Medicare and Medicaid funds, which typically make up a majority of nursing facilities' revenue.
Federal decertification is a rare and extreme action that hasn't happened to any other Virginia nursing facilities in recent years. It comes after the Virginia Department of Health (VDH), which conducts inspections and complaint investigations on behalf of CMS, cited the facility for serious violations during inspections that occurred in February, June, and August.
Those citations included a lack of adequate supervision which caused multiple resident falls resulting in severe injuries, bed sores not being treated properly, and a finding of neglect after staff failed to appropriately respond to a resident's declining condition that required hospitalization in the ICU.
Leidig said his wife, who has dementia, will now have to move to a new facility after five and half years of living at Princess Anne.
“I’m afraid that it will significantly impact both her mental and physical health," Leidig said.
He said his wife's Medicaid Managed Care Organization informed him shortly after CBS 6's story aired that she would have to be relocated. However, he said the facility did not initially communicate anything about a looming transfer, and he could not get immediate answers from staff about next steps.
Since then, he said he did receive a letter dated September 5 from Princess Anne that said the facility would "cease operations" on October 5.
"This action is the result of a mandatory termination of our Medicare and Medicaid provider agreements by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) due to our facility not achieving regulatory compliance by the required deadline. As a result, we are required by we law to provide all residents and families with 30 days' written notice of closure," the letter stated.
When asked to confirm the closure, facility spokesperson Mindie Barnett told CBS 6, "Princess Anne Health & Rehabilitation Center continues to try to work collaboratively with VDH to avoid displacement of residents, if possible. We are communicating all scenarios with residents and families to provide as much information and notice as possible."
Leidig said he's frustrated with both the government and the facility that this outcome means his wife's living situation will be disrupted. He believes regulatory agencies should have been more involved with the facility to require compliance before termination and the facility should have corrected its issues much sooner.
“There's significant improvements that [Princess Anne] could make," he said. "They have a fairly high personnel turnover, and so different levels of caregiving have been experienced over the years. Should they be shut down? I would prefer it not, because it makes life easier for me and my wife."
Kristi Benson, whose mother also had dementia, told our sister station WTKR she too is worried about the uncertainty of the future and has had no issues with the facility.
“Our experience has been good. We’ve been overall happy. She’s thriving there. She’s gaining weight. She’s eating. She’s making friends. So it really came as a shock to our family," Benson said.
But Mary Mattice, whose mother was in the facility in July and August, said she wants the government to shut it down immediately.
“Please, please. I hope they show up right now and go do it," Mattice said. "I don’t want anyone to go in there.”
Mattice has serious concerns regarding her mother-in-law's care that have not yet been fully investigated by VDH, but generally, she said she was unsatisfied with the level of staffing and attentiveness that she witnessed.
“Lord have mercy if you had anything happen, like a soiled diaper, which we did at a staff change. It took them 45 minutes to get into the room. That's with me there," Mattice said. "It felt like we were doing more for her than the people that are trained to do this were doing.”
Mattice said she felt staffing levels were not sufficient to meet the needs of residents.
According to inspection records, nurse aides reported to inspectors “they often were unable to turn and reposition residents every two hours due to staffing shortages” and “sometimes did not feel good about the care they provided because they did not have enough help.”
Medicare records show Princess Anne has a 1-star overall quality rating with staffing levels that are much below average.
The operational chain of Princess Anne is currently listed as Lifeworks Rehab and previously listed as Medical Facilities of America (MFA). LifeWorks is a rehab vendor, operating in facilities owned by MFA, according to VDH.
MFA facilities were acquired by the New Jersey-based company Innovative Healthcare Management in 2021, per VDH, and its portfolio includes several other low-rated facilities including Colonial Heights, Henrico Health and Rehab, and Parham.
Barnett has previously denied that Lifeworks or MFA act as owners or operators and instead refers to them as vendors.
Last month, when asked whether VDH was taking licensing action against Princess Anne at the state level, the agency said it was considering all options. Now, it appears the agency is seeking a resolution that will allow the facility to continue operating.
"VDH and MFA are working to secure alternative locations for all Medicare and Medicaid patients. Additionally, VDH and MFA leadership have been working together collaboratively to develop a solution that allows the facility to continue caring for the remaining patients as long as patient safety and quality of care is guaranteed," VDH spokesperson Maria Reppas said in a statement.
The state Medicaid agency (DMAS) said its staff visited the facility earlier this month to meet with impacted residents and explain the decertification and relocation process. The deadline for Medicare and Medicaid patients to be moved is September 27.
Before the CMS termination took effect in August, the facility and DMAS were notified by CMS that it would deny payments for new Medicare and Medicaid admissions beginning May 27. However, DMAS confirmed five Medicaid patients were still admitted after that date. DMAS said any prohibited Medicaid payments will be retracted if already paid.
Barnett did not directly answer questions about why new Medicaid patients continued to be admitted after the notice of denial of payment for new admissions.
CMS also imposed a daily fine of $1,060 effective February 18 for every day the nursing home remained out of compliance.
WATCH: Injuries, falls, neglect: Virginia nursing home at risk of shutting down after 'extremely rare' federal action
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