Joined by officials of Pawtuxet Village Care and Rehabilitation Center (Pawtuxet Village), Steven M. Costantino, Secretary of the Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EOHHS) and Dr. Michael Fine, Director of the Department of Health (HEALTH), today announced that Pawtuxet Village is voluntarily closing its doors.
Harborside Rhode Island LP, dba Pawtuxet Village Care and Rehabilitation Center on Post Road in Warwick, engaged Genesis ElderCare Network Services, Inc. to take over temporary management of Pawtuxet Village on March 26th. Genesis and Harborside assessed the situation at the facility and determined that despite Harborside's best efforts to date and the best efforts of Genesis going forward, restoration of the facility to sustained substantial compliance would require a far longer time period to recover census and recruit core staff than could be accommodated through the regulatory process.
Suffering from a history of lapses into non-compliance with federal and state standards since 2009, during which time the facility received repeat citations for issues involving significant quality of clinical care, quality of life, and medication, HEALTH issued a Notice of Intent to Revoke License and Notice of Hearing to the 131-bed licensed nursing facility on March 13th of this year and recommended that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) terminate the facility's participation in the Medicare and Medicaid programs due to its inability to maintain compliance on a consistent basis.
Secretary Costantino said, "Our main concern has been, and continues to be, the safety and well-being of the residents of Pawtuxet Village. EOHHS, Human Services, HEALTH, the Long Term Care Ombudsman's office, and the Nursing Home Closure Committee will work with Genesis to ensure a smooth and orderly closure process during which our top priority will be the health and welfare of the residents as they transition to new facilities that can best meet their needs."
"All health care facilities are precious commodities, as they care for Rhode Islanders and are important to the well-being of our state," said Michael Fine, M.D., director of HEALTH. "Ultimately, HEALTH has one singular focus: To ensure the public's health and safety. The department's role in this transition is to continue to ensure the health and well-being of all Pawtuxet Village residents."
"Our priority is the care and well-being of the residents at Pawtuxet Village," states Susan LaNinfa, Pawtuxet Village Administrator. "We will work collaboratively with the Alliance and other State officials to provide the residents with as smooth a transition as possible."
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