BRENTWOOD — U.S. Rep. Cori Bush, D-ºüÀêÊÓƵ, on Monday called for an investigation into the closure of Northview Village Nursing Home, the 320-bed facility that shut down without notice last month in ºüÀêÊÓƵ.
Northview’s former workers staged a rally outside the owners’ offices in Brentwood on Monday morning, calling to be paid for their final days at the facility.
Bush spoke there, and called for probes into the facility’s owners, and into the state’s systems for overseeing nursing homes. She made the same demands Monday in a letter to U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra.
“The state has consistently failed to adequately fund inspections, and the patient advocacy infrastructure that are necessary to keep tragedies like this one from happening in long-term care facilities across the state,†Bush said. “This is not right.â€
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In July, additional funding for the regional nursing home ombudsman program, VOYCE, was among Gov. Mike Parson’s budget line-item vetoes. The program, which sends staff and volunteers into area facilities, said the money would have allowed it to hire 10 more coordinators.
In August, the that one in four Missouri nursing homes hadn’t had a standard inspection in two years, due in part to backlogs that grew during the COVID-19 pandemic, and to a significant increase in complaints.
The state Department of Health and Senior Services did not immediately respond to questions.
Bush also called for the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to strengthen and finalize minimum staffing requirements for nursing homes.
The Service Employees International Union, which represents Northview workers, said workers have still not received paychecks for their last week of work, or payouts from accrued paid time off at the shuttered, 320-bed facility.
Workers on Monday rallied outside the Brentwood office of Healthcare Accounting Services, which ran the home.
Tosha Thomas, 44, of ºüÀêÊÓƵ, who worked as a certified medication technician at Northview, said workers have been struggling with the unexpected loss of income.
“A lot of us take care of our children and our grandchildren,†Thomas said. “A lot of us don’t have savings. A lot of us don’t have side jobs.â€
Thomas said she worked on a psychiatric floor at Northview on Dec. 15, the evening of the closure. She said she started at 3 p.m., and worked to the end of her shift helping people who were transferring residents to other facilities. Some residents left behind personal belongings, like clothes and televisions.
“It really broke my heart,†she said. “They were like family. They depended on us coming to work.â€
On Dec. 22, a former employee, Carolyn Hawthorne, filed a class action suit alleging that the facility violated the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act — or WARN Act — which requires employers to notify workers ahead of major layoffs or closures.
The WARN Act requires 60 days’ notice ahead of mass layoffs, with some exemptions, like closures and layoffs caused by natural disasters or unforeseeable business circumstances.
The company’s owner, Mahklouf “Mark†Suissa, of Chicago, declined comment on Monday.