Rochester, N.Y. (WHAM) — After more than two years of scrutiny and placement on a federal special focus list for serious quality issues, Waterview Heights Rehabilitation and Nursing Center is being forced to shut down.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is terminating the facility’s participation in the federal programs after it failed to make meaningful changes to keep residents safe.
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State Assemblymembers Sarah Clark and Josh Jensen have been part of a bipartisan group working to improve care at the center. Both told 13WHAM the news comes days after the New York State Department of Health ordered Waterview Heights to pay a $560,000 fine for failing to take corrective action.
“We never want to see a situation where a healthcare facility is forced to close,” Jensen said. “But certainly, at the end of the day, government needs to act when it’s in the interest of protecting people.”
The closure follows numerous failed inspections and allegations of resident abuse, neglect, medication errors and insufficient staffing.
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Last summer, the New York State Department of Health appointed a temporary manager to oversee operations at the facility.
“When you get a fine from the New York State Department of Health for $560,000, the goal isn’t necessarily to get that money; the goal is to create enough pressure to fix the problems,” Clark said. “And what happened over the last few months with that huge fine looming over their heads is that they didn’t fix the problems.”
State lawmakers said Waterview Heights must submit a closure plan to the Department of Health within five days. Jensen told 13WHAM around 130 residents could be impacted.
“Within what they submit to DOH, there has to be a plan for every single person, not a plan in theory but a plan in reality of where they’re going and how they’re going to be cared for,” Clark explained.”
“Certainly when you look at the healthcare situation in Monroe County, in the Rochester area, we can’t rely on our hospitals to be the be-all and end-all in the solution to a problem like this,” Jensen added.
The assemblymembers said they will continue working to expand safe, high-quality nursing home capacity across the region as residents are relocated.
“I know it took a long time, but we do stay on top of these things, and we do want to make sure that the facilities that are caring for our loved ones are doing the right thing,” Clark said.
Earlier this year, the facility reportedly changed management from Grand Healthcare System to Advanced Healthcare. 13WHAM reached out to the new management for comment.
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The New York State Department of Health released a statement:
The Department of Health will work closely with the facility to ensure the safe, orderly transfer of residents and that next steps are carried out with care that prioritizes the health, safety, and dignity of residents who currently call this facility their home.