ST. LOUIS (AP) 鈥� Federal regulators have issued a $55,000 fine after St. Louis鈥� largest nursing home although experts said the amount collected will likely be smaller.
The U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced the fine in a letter to the owners of Northview Village, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch .
The 320-bed skilled nursing facility closed suddenly on Dec. 15 as the company that owned it struggled to meet payroll. Starting then and lasting through Dec. 17, when Northview gave up its Medicare and Medicaid contracts, it was 鈥渋n violation,鈥� documents released this week show.
The letter from the federal agency says that if Northview waives its rights to a hearing, the $18,770-per-day penalty for that three-day span will be reduced by 35%.
Richard Mollot, executive director of the Long Term Care Community Coalition, an advocacy group, said that is the norm for the agency's penalties. He said fines frequently are reduced or eliminated.
鈥淕iven what happened here, I think it鈥檚 a fine that鈥檚 well below what the egregious behavior of this operator merits,鈥� he said.
Members of the nursing home鈥檚 ownership group did not immediately return calls from the Post-Dispatch or The Associated Press seeking comment Wednesday.
The closure was chaotic, with many patients left with nothing but the clothes they were wearing, among residents and their families. Some were relocated without their medical records or medication lists.
One resident with was missing more than three weeks before he was found.
Further complicating the closure, Northview housed many residents on Medicaid who couldn鈥檛 get into other long-term care facilities, including people with mental health and behavioral problems, advocates for the residents have said.
鈥淔or everything that happened, it seems low,鈥� said Marjorie Moore, executive director of VOYCE, the regional nursing home ombudsman program.
Last month, U.S. Rep. Cori Bush, a St. Louis Democrat, called for a federal investigation of the owners as well as a probe of Missouri鈥檚 system of overseeing nursing homes.
As of Wednesday, Bush鈥檚 office had not received any response from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and was not aware of any other actions taken on Northview.
The Associated Press
