The Pennsylvania Department of Health deemed a nursing home in Scranton, Pa., "unsafe" May 31, leading to the relocation of about 85 residents, WVIA, a PBS News affiliate reported.
The 180-bed facility, Mountain View Care and Rehabilitation Center, was also deemed "unsafe for human occupancy" by the city of Scranton Code Enforcement office, according to WBRE, an NBC affiliate, though it is unclear what led to that determination.
The nursing home had been under scrutiny from CMS for deficiencies multiple times since July 2021 for adverse events ranging from abuse, neglect, and exploitation deficiencies to nutritional and dietary deficiencies, administration deficiencies, quality of care deficiencies and more, according to CMS data.
In a statement obtained by WBRE, the Department of Health said: "Mt. View Nursing And Rehabilitation is currently in an emergency relocation process due to the risk of resident's health and safety related to the physical environment. The Department of Health's first priority is making sure residents receive quality care in a safe and secure setting. The department, with the assistance of other state and local resources, is relocating the facility's 85 residents to keep them safe."
While it is unclear what exact criteria led the health department to determine conditions were unsafe for residents to force the relocation on May 31, CMS data shows that the facility's most recent deficiencies were reported in October 2023 related to abuse, neglect, and exploitation and deficiencies in pharmacy services, and overall care. Corrections had been made in these areas as of December 2023, according to CMS.
Failure to "ensure each resident's drug regimen must be free from unnecessary drugs," as well as in providing staff with "education on dementia care, and what abuse, neglect, and exploitation are; and how to report abuse, neglect, and exploitation" and even failure to "protect each resident from all types of abuse" were all cited as reasons for the deficiencies identified in October inspections by CMS.
The Pennsylvania Department of Health confirmed to WVIA that all residents had been safely relocated as of June 1. However, neither the health department nor the nursing facility reported the relocation ahead of time to the Lackawanna County Area Agency on Aging, according to the outlet.
"As soon as we learned of the closure, we sent our local AAA on-call staff out to assess the situation early Saturday morning," Sara McDonald, the director of Lackawanna County Area Agency on Aging told WVIA, but upon arriving, the team found all residents had already been relocated.
Becker's reached out to the Pennsylvania Department of Health, Scranton Code Enforcement Office, Mountain View Care and Rehabilitation Center, and Lackawanna County Area Agency on Aging to request comment on the matter. If new information becomes available, this story will be updated.