Financial troubles forced a nursing home to close in the wake of overzealous regulation and a cyberattack that impacted nursing homes across the US, facility leaders said days after an emergency shutdown led to the evacuation of its 45 residents.
The abrupt shutdown took place March 1 after employees of Jefferson Hills Healthcare and Rehabilitation learned their paychecks would be delayed after a missed Feb. 23 payday, causing many to walk off the job.Following the missed payroll and with few direct care workers left to provide for residents, the Pennsylvania Department of Health cited the facility for “Immediate Jeopardy” to residents.
Residents were successfully placed in several other facilities in the Pittsburgh area.
In a March 3 statement posted on Jefferson Hills’ website, the facility claims that a recent cyberattack on Change Healthcare cut off its cash flows and forced it to miss the scheduled payroll cycle.
The cyberattack — identified on Feb. 21 — shut down the largest healthcare billing clearinghouse in the US, severely hampering many long-term care providers’ ability to submit billing claims.
Jefferson Hills also blamed its financial troubles on overzealous regulatory oversight stemming from violations committed before ownership of the facility passed to Bonamour Health Group in June 2022, including a temporary admissions ban.
“[The Feb. 23] missed payroll was directly due to the cash flow challenges faced because of Change’s refusal to process our payments,” the statement reads. “This was just the last of a string of multiple restrictions and bans placed upon the facility since change of ownership…. the facility has been victim to “G” level deficiencies resulting from incidents occurring under the prior owners’ time frame. We have continuously been burdened with fines and threats from DOH who have been a constant presence in our facility, resulting in a chaotic environment for both our residents and staff.”
Bonamour did not respond to McKnight’s request for comment Thursday.
Jefferson Hills was cited for more than 20 deficiencies in 2023 and fined more than $110,000. A deficiency report stemming from an October survey found that many residents were subject to Immediate Jeopardy because the facility was months behind on payments to vendors and dangerously short on necessary medical supplies, such as alcohol swabs, acetaminophen, wound care supplies and briefs.
Jefferson Hills’ residents have been admitted to other nearby facilities, and at least 20 former care workers were able to find new jobs at nearby Southwestern Nursing and Rehabilitation.
According to the Jefferson Hills statement, the “decision was made to temporarily close… to give the sister facilities a chance to succeed.” Bonamour operates six other skilled nursing and senior living facilities near Pittsburgh and in rural Pennsylvania.
