CHICAGO, IL – An Illinois nursing home is being forced to closed in the small town of New Athens, nearly 35 miles away from St. Louis, causing confusion amongst residents and their families about where they will go next.
Residents and their loved ones found out on Friday that they had two weeks to find a new place to reside. The New Athens nursing home has been a top asset for the small town of just under 2,000 residents.
New Athens For The Aged has been an excellent source of assisted living or nursing home services for residents in the small town for countless years. The COVID-19 pandemic brought upon staff shortages and various violations. The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) fined the nursing home $50,000 for failing to test a resident for COVID-19 in November; additionally, fourteen of the 40 residents ended up testing positive for COVID-19 while four died.
“I don’t know where they will go,” the mayor told Fox 2 Now.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) notified the nursing home the Medicare and Medicaid programs would be terminated on June 14, make it impossible for the non-profit home to continue operating.
An IDPH spokesperson mentioned they were working to place all residents in a new home by this week.
