Residents displaced as Kansas City nursing home forced to shut down

by Malik Jackson

Residents displaced as Kansas City nursing home forced to shut down

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A Kansas City nursing home is on the brink of shutting down and when FOX4 showed up to ask questions we were locked out.

Our cameras were rolling as the final residents of Timberlake Care Center in south Kansas City were displaced.

Just last month, the Missouri Attorney General filed a petition in court, saying the center had “financial incapacity” and a “staffing emergency.”

“Very devastating, I live here, it kind of messes up everything. You have the stress of going to a new place, worrying about medical and appointments and all of that,” Jared Houck, a resident who has been forced to leave said.

They’ve left people like Houck in quite a predicament.

‘It’s a big deal going from place, changing homes like this,” Houck said.

A petition filed in Jackson County Circuit Court, the AG’s office alleges the owner owes more than $3 million in a loan agreement that has not been honored.

This filing would go on to lay out the issues with payroll saying the department (was) informed, that staff members’ paychecks were being returned, prompting fears employees would resign. FOX4 has learned the chief nurse did just that.

The AG near the end of this petition made it clear the danger this facility being open presented saying “noncompliance has placed the health and safety of recipients in its care at risk for serious injury, serious harm, serious impairment or death.”

“Extremely unsettling, the uncertainty not knowing what’s going to happen, there’s some employees who don’t even know where they’re going and it’s their last day,” Houck said.

It’s important to add the owners of the facility also own Hidden Lake Care Center in Raytown. That home is closing on or before May 26, according to court records.

Also, the dialysis center that is on this property will not be closed and patients that utilize it will still be able to go there.

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Residents displaced as Kansas City nursing home forced to shut down

'Where will they live?': Humboldt nursing home residents displaced

Anchor/Reporter:   Todd Magel

HUMBOLDT, Iowa —

Where will they live?

That's the question for 45 residents of a Humboldt nursing home that's closing its doors. It's one of six Iowa care facilities shutting down and displacing 260 residents by order of state regulators.

"I think it's awful that people are going to have to go so far away to see their family. My daughter works there, and she is losing her job, so that's a bummer," said Mandy Davis, who lives in Humboldt.

Davis says it’s the talk of the town. State regulators say the new owners, Blue Care Homes, must close the Humboldt facility along with five others across the state. And now, health care leaders in Humboldt County are scrambling to help.

"We are here to help any way we can," said Michelle Sleiter, CEO of Humboldt County Memorial Hospital.

Sleiter also oversees the Humboldt County Health Department. She is sending hospital workers to the Humboldt Care Facility to help as it closes. The hospital will now run the last 28-bed nursing home in Humboldt. But there’s a problem.

"Our nursing home at the hospital is the only option now after this closes, and again I only have 28 beds, and unfortunately, we're full," said Sleiter.

Sleiter says nursing homes are closing due to many factors. They include worker shortages, supply chain issues and revenue trouble. She is urging state lawmakers to investigate the problem

"This is going to be a long-term game that we are going to have to work through. Nothing is going to change overnight," said Sleiter.

The hope of Iowa leaders is that the residents will be placed within 20 miles. A new burden for the residents and their families who call Humboldt home.

"It's hard. These are people's lives, and most of them have lived in Humboldt their entire lives. So having to potentially find placement outside of our community hits close to home," Sleiter said.

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'Where will they live?': Humboldt nursing home residents displaced