ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, March 5, 1997 TAG: 9703050083
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SANDRA BROWN KELLY STAFF WRITER
Shenandoah Manor Nursing Home in Clifton Forge, which was in danger of being closed by the state Health Department, learned Tuesday that it passed a reinspection and again is eligible to receive Medicaid funds.
The 60-bed home lost Medicaid funding in December.
It could get its Medicaid designation back as early as next week, said the home's consultant, Deborah Petrine of Colonial Care management company in Roanoke. She was hired by the home's owner, Lenox Healthcare Inc. of Pittsfield, Mass., to help the staff correct deficiencies that led to the home's problems late last year.
The home has been plagued with financial woes for several years and had been on a state list of "poor performers," Petrine said. Shenandoah Manor should now be able to get rid of that image, she said.
Of the home's 28 current residents, 16 were funded by Medicaid. Those funds were lost in mid-December, but at the encouragement of the home's owner, the Medicaid residents have stayed for free since, Petrine said.
The home normally would have received about $80,000 for their care for that period, she said.
Thirty-two residents moved out when Shenandoah Manor lost Medicaid designation. The home was put on probation after earlier inspections revealed a variety of patient care violations, including excessive use of patient restraints and failure to monitor the whereabouts of patients suffering from Alzheimer's disease.
In the reinspection last week, the home was cited for what Petrine termed two "minor" deficiencies. One problem was insufficient staff response time to a monitor that indicated a patient was trying to get up from a recliner, she said.
As soon as she gets the state's written report, a plan for correcting the deficiencies will be submitted, Petrine said.
Lenox Healthcare acquired Shenandoah Manor about a year ago at the invitation of a bank that held the bonds on the facility, said Tom Clarke, president and chief executive officer of Lenox.
Lenox has 87 properties in 16 states, including seven in Virginia, Clarke said. The Virginia facilities all are leased to other operators and include Brian Centers in Fincastle and Low Moor and a home in Hot Springs, he said.
A plan of bankruptcy reorganization filed for Shenandoah Manor about six months ago provides for investors to get new bonds valued at 80 cents on the dollar, Clarke said.
In the meantime, Clarke said he personally guaranteed operating money for the facility.
The results of the state visit to the home was "great news," he said Tuesday.
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