MARYVILLE, IL – A nursing home in Illinois that had been accused of abuse and neglect has shut down after its federal funding was removed, according to the Belleville News-Democrat.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) pulled funds from Well Care Home of Maryville on April 2, saying the facility failed to attain substantial compliance with Medicare and Medicaid requirements. Among the issues cited were abuse, neglect, and exploitation, quality of life, and quality of care. CMS, the federal agency that regulates nursing homes, said termination is typically a last resort after working with providers so that they comply with regulations.
In particular, it was determined during inspections between November 2024 and March 25 that conditions at the facility had led to a preventable resident death and other injuries, a sewage backup, rodent infestation and more issues of substandard care.
In three of the last eight inspections, Well Care Home of Maryville received the most serious citation, a determination that residents’ health or safety was in “immediate jeopardy.”
Upon closing, the facility notified its 73 residents and their families that they needed to find alternate care and said it planned to terminate its over 60 employees.
Dr. Ahsan Usman, a local physician who bought the property last summer, and the Well Care Home of Maryville administrator, did not respond to requests for comment from the Belleville News-Democrat.
In the case of the preventable death at the nursing home, an inspection report indicated that an emergency room nurse told a state inspector that the resident’s death could have been prevented if the nursing home staff had emptied his catheter in a timely manner. The resident died in the hospital in December after being admitted in serious condition with septic shock, acute kidney injury when he already had chronic kidney disease, urinary tract infection, and encephalopathy. The administrator told the inspector she was “very unhappy” with the care provided to that resident. “I can tell you it has a lot to do with lack of nursing oversite (sic) and nursing judgment,” she said.
The state inspection also found that a resident who died in December after being hospitalized for pneumonia had not received any pneumococcal vaccines after being admitted to the facility in late 2023, and 32 other residents were overdue for the vaccine.
In addition, it was reported that many residents got into fights when their mental health issues led to aggressive behavior. Other residents developed a range of physical and mental problems due to neglect of proper medical care by the staff, according to inspectors.
Furthermore, a plumbing backup at the aging facility in January exposed residents to sewage, which contains bacteria, viruses and other potentially harmful substances, while a rodent infestation was also reported during the same month.
Illinois Department of Public Health spokesperson Mike Claffey said Well Care Home of Maryville shut down before the April 2 termination date of federal funding, “Under these circumstances, it was in the best interest of patients to have them relocated to alternate and safe accommodations as quickly as possible,” said Claffey. “IDPH was onsite monitoring the closure process (the week of April 2) and will continue to work with any of the former residents who need assistance to ensure that they are able to find acceptable long-term solutions to their needs.”
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