Carmichael, Calif.-based Eagle Crest nursing home, owned by Kennett Square, Pa.-based Genesis HealthCare, will voluntarily close in October, resulting in 72 layoffs, according to the Sacramento Bee.
Genesis HealthCare spokesperson Jeanne Moore declined to comment on the closure. However, a lawyer representing the health system said an immediate jeopardy citation from the state health department, which placed the 126-bed facility at risk of losing its Medicare contract, was "the straw that brings us to make this difficult decision," according to the report.
On June 22, California Department of Health regulators recommended to CMS the 126-bed nursing home be stripped of its Medicare funding after various patient care lapses were found, including a case where a female Alzheimer's patient was sexually assaulted.
The facility self-reported the sexual abuse in February. However, California regulators decided the facility placed all 36 female patients at risk of harm because the male patient who sexually abused the woman had a "history of inappropriate touching of a confused patient," according to the Sacramento Bee, which cited state health department documents.
Current patients at the nursing home will be transferred to three other facilities owned by Genesis in northern California.