Eyewitness News (WBRE/WYOU) — There are new developments regarding the sudden closure of a Scranton nursing home: 85 residents of Mountain View Care and Rehabilitation Center were evacuated Friday and relocated to other facilities.
Advocates representing Pennsylvania nursing homes and their residents will hear arguments Sunday.
28/22 News reporter Gianna Galli followed the case all weekend.
Zach Shamberg, president and CEO of the Pennsylvania Health Care Association (PHCA), said this incident is very serious and could have a major impact on Pennsylvania’s nursing home care crisis.
Mountain View is one of several nursing homes that have faced challenges in recent months, in what the PHCA director called a “worrying trend.”
“If you have a loved one in long-term care, please know that this is a very disturbing trend that we’re seeing in Pennsylvania,” Shamberg explained.
Shamberg is sounding the alarm.
The PHCA chief said the center helped relocate 85 residents after Mount View Care and Rehabilitation Center abruptly closed on Friday.
“Without sufficient staff, it is extremely difficult for service providers to immediately accommodate residents,” Shamberg continued.
It took coordination and a lot of phone calls.
“We’ve been in contact with a lot of our members and nursing home leadership, trying to figure out what we can do, how quickly we can do it and what the next steps are for our residents and their families,” Shamberg added.
This has caused chaos at facilities such as Lakewood Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center.
“We got the call, we rallied our team and we went out there to offer whatever support we could. It takes a village to be involved in healthcare,” said Melissa Sweets, administrator at Lakewood Rehabilitation Healthcare Center.
The evacuation in Scranton is just one of many challenges facing nursing homes across Pennsylvania.
“In the past few weeks alone, we’ve seen a nursing home chain declare bankruptcy, two nursing home closures announced in the Pittsburgh area, and now emergency evacuations,” Shamberg said.
However, the specific reasons why Mountain View was closed remain a mystery.
“In speaking with suppliers across northeastern Pennsylvania, we overwhelmingly found there were physical facility issues that could not be fixed quickly enough to keep residents safe,” Shamberg said.
Residents like Jeff Bohm’s father were transferred to a facility in Kingston.
“This is very strange and the residents’ families deserve answers,” Boam said.
Schaumburg said recent efforts have been made to address those concerns at a nursing home in Harrisburg here in Pennsylvania.
28/22 News will continue to bring you updates on this developing story.
