ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, July 23, 1996 TAG: 9607230079
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-4 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: RICHMOND
SOURCE: Associated Press
A RICHMOND CONVALESCENT CENTER'S owner pledged to fix the problems threatening the home's Medicaid certification before an Aug. 15 deadline. - The Forest Hill Convalescent Center, threatened with closing after losing its Medicaid certification, will remain open at least through Aug. 15, the state's top Medicaid official said Monday night.
The announcement by state Medicaid director Joe Teefey brought cheers at a meeting attended by about 500 friends and relatives of nursing home residents.
``We're not going to move anybody out of Forest Hill,'' Teefey said.
Instead, he said, the facility will be brought into compliance with federal regulations by mid-August, under an agreement between the state and the home's owner.
``As of the 15th, the facility has got to be in compliance. If it's not, we'll have to move the residents,'' Teefey said.
``I assure you we can pass the criteria on Aug. 15,'' said Herb Seal, the owner of the facility.
Seal said he has spent $1.5 million in the past six months to bring the home up to federal standards. He also has offered to cover the Medicaid portion of patient costs out of his own pocket until the Aug. 15 deadline, which he estimates could cost as much as $200,000.
The announcement brought relief from relatives who had been faced with the prospect of their elderly loved ones being moved to other nursing homes across the state.
``I was elated. I prayed that this would materialize,'' said Eloise P. Bebbs, whose mother is in the home.
``It's been very scary,'' said Amber Grobdruck, whose aunt lives at Forest Hill.
Teefey faced angry questions about why families had been given so little notice that the home was closing. He promised that, if the home doesn't meet standards by next month, families will get more and timelier information.
The nursing home has 155 Medicaid-covered patients. Another 15 patients who have private financing would not have been affected by the move.
The state Department of Medical Assistance Services, which administers Medicaid in Virginia, said nursing homes that fail to comply with federal regulations six months after an inspection must be dropped from the program.
A release from the department said that of 248 long-term care centers inspected by the state as of last month, about 72 percent were in compliance with regulations, 20 percent were not in substantial compliance and 9 percent were substandard.
Nancy Hofheimer, director of the Office of Health Facilities Regulations in the state Department of Health, said the department had inspected the home three times beginning in December and found violations each time.
Forest Hill was notified it would lose its Medicaid funding by June 15, a deadline that was extended by one month.
A report on a July 12 inspection at Forest Hill showed that emergency equipment was locked away and not all nurses had keys; a nurse was unfamiliar with how to operate an oxygen tank; and several patients received inadequate care for mental or physical ailments.
Seal said the center would go bankrupt if it lost its Medicaid patients. Statewide, about 65 percent of nursing home patients are covered by Medicaid, he said. At Forest Hill, 90 percent have their expenses paid by the government health insurance for the poor. The federal and state governments split the cost of the program.
He blamed his troubles on new Medicaid regulations that require homes to meet some 370 requirements or lose their certification.
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