A nursing home’s lack of safety protocols led to a dangerous, chaotic evacuation after its abrupt closure, endangering its 174 residents, according to a new report from the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.
The department’s 61 pages of findings shed light on the nuances and necessity of emergency preparedness plans for nursing homes.
Northview Village of St. Louis closed without warning after a shortfall of funds kept staff from receiving their paychecks on time. This news prompted some staff to walk off the job and others to steal from the facility, according to the report. It also forced administrators to attempt to evacuate residents to other facilities in the area.
“The facility failed to take measures to ensure security of the residents and staff during the evacuation,” Missouri officials wrote. “The failures jeopardized the health and safety for all residents and staff.”
The investigation revealed residents were moved without them or their guardians being informed beforehand — and sometimes without their belongings or medical records being secured.
Further details from the extensive report noted phone lines going down, residents and staff trapped in an elevator after too many people tried to fit inside, loss of medical records and an inability to properly track where all residents were relocated. Sirens rang out unattended on multiple floors as staff attempted to move residents down alarmed stairways. Two residents went missing after the evacuation — one found the next day and the other not for several weeks.
Missing plans
The report detailed investigations and interviews conducted since the closure, but it didn’t immediately propose penalties for the apparent lapsed wages, lack of preparedness or chaotic evacuation.
US Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO) called for an HHS investigation into the incident Jan. 8, citing “significant concern” that a similar event could happen again in the state without proper oversight.
A representative from Healthcare Accounting Services, which owned Northview before its December closure, declined to comment to McKnight’s Long-Term Care News Thursday.
While Northview’s situation drew scrutiny for how unusual and dramatic its closure was, its struggles are emblematic of some problems faced broadly across the long-term care sector. A September report from the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector revealed that more than three-quarters of nursing homes face significant challenges in emergency preparedness.
Nursing homes’ staffing problems have exacerbated this problem, preventing lower-level staff at some facilities from being trained in emergency and evacuation protocols, an expert told McKnight’s in the wake of a separate OIG report in November. Having a dedicated emergency manager on staff could be a fruitful step to preemptively ensure safety in such situations.
