Two RI Nursing Homes Placed Into Receivership as Crisis Spreads
Friday, June 23, 2023
Two more Rhode Island nursing homes have been placed into receivership.
This week, Superior Court Judge Brian Stern named Jeremy Savage the receiver of Hebert Health in Smithfield and Trinity Health and Rehabilitation Center in Woonsocket. The two companies and related real estate companies are owned by two men, Jeffrey Barnhill and James Flanagan.
Savage, in an interview with GoLocal, said that the industry faces serious economic and workforce challenges.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST"Significant increases to Medicaid rates were just approved, and these will take effect in the Fall, and these increases will partially mitigate some of these challenges,” said Savage.
“However, nursing homes nationally continue to struggle to hire sufficient numbers of qualified staff due to a national shortage of healthcare workers and, relatedly, there is well-known uncertainty surrounding the status of the minimum staffing requirements in the state,” Savage said.
“Finally, rising interest rates are affecting most industries and the nursing home industry is no exception,” Savage added.
In May, Pawtucket Falls Healthcare Center was placed into receivership.
Stern appointed attorney Mark Russo as receiver of the facility.
Impact on Residents and Staff
For the past three years, nursing homes have been on a financial and business rollercoaster between COVID and new staffing mandates passed last year by the Rhode Island General Assembly.
Savage said he does not anticipate any impact on staff or the residents.
“We do not anticipate this receivership having any impact on the residents of the facilities whatsoever—full stop. The residents and their families are and will always be our number one priority and we are working closely with the State and the team at the Rhode Island Department of Health to ensure that this proceeding does not cause even a small disruption to the care being provided for our residents,” said Savage.
He said, “Similarly, my understanding is that the Rhode Island Department of Health has no regulatory concerns with the quality of care being provided at these facilities and is very happy with them from a clinical standpoint. That is due to the hard work and passion of our dedicated employees who are the most critical assets that these facilities have.”
“We know that resident care cannot be safeguarded without also protecting our employees and I am confident that we will be able to do so, as we were able to do recently in the receivership of the Hopkins Manor nursing home and the Phoenix House substance use disorder treatment facility. Both of these facilities emerged from receivership under our guidance with new investment and millions of dollars having been spent on improvements and enhancements to patient care. When applied properly, receivership in Rhode Island is a powerful tool to protect and improve critical community healthcare assets and I anticipate a similar result here,” added Savage.
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