Jefferson County woman moved to nursing home in North City without family’s knowledge, daughter says

JEFFERSON COUNTY, Mo. (First Alert 4) - Cathy Ivy tells First Alert 4 she received a phone call last week saying, “He said I need some information on your mom, Lois Hobby. If you could call me back. And I thought it was a scam...”

She its she didn’t take the call seriously until she saw a First Alert 4 report saying her mom’s nursing home, Festus Manor, was closing.

She then realized the call was from her mom’s new nursing home, Hillside Rehab and Healthcare in north St. Louis.

“They know they did wrong by moving my mom without my consent. Why? Why did it have to be north Saint Louis.? There’s plenty of places here in the area,” says Ivy.

Ivy’s 86-year-old mom has dementia and is now more than 40 miles away at Hillside Rehab and Healthcare.

She says, “Thanksgiving Day, my sister had to work, and I was here, and I was bawling because I couldn’t talk to my mom. I couldn’t go see her.”

Ivy is working to get her mom back into a facility in Jefferson County.

“Festus Manor never did me at all through this whole thing,” states Ivy.

Ivy’s mom was one of dozens of residents forced out of Festus Manor.

First Alert 4 visited the facility in November. After getting kicked off the property, we learned the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) terminated funding for the one-star rated facility.

The CMS notice states “CMS has determined that Festus Manor failed to attain substantial compliance with certain Medicare and Medicaid participation requirements.”

“It’s been really busy taking calls from residents who are unsure of what the process is going through. Same with family,” says Marjorie Moore, Executive Director of VOYCE.

VOYCE is an agency advocating for residents of long-term care facilities, helping residents get moved.

Festus Manor’s parent company is based out of Baltimore. According to VOYCE, out-of-state ownership for long-term care facilities isn’t uncommon.

The agency noticed something out of the ordinary about Festus Manor.

“It’s set up in order to use this as a real estate investment instead of a care home, which is what it really should be. And so it’s a way that owners pull profits out of the facility and then lower staffing significantly” says Moore.

Missouri is one of 20 states suing the Cnters for Medicare and Medicaid Services over a nursing home staffing requirement - which would set new minimum staffing levels in nursing homes.

Moore says, “To see this many states going after this rule, they’re saying that you know there isn’t enough staff to satisfy this rule, but at the same time, we really need to be focusing on the money that we’re paying for. IS Medicare and Medicaid going to pay for care or is it going to line owners profits? And that’s the really the important thing. ”

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