SCRANTON, Pa. — Linda Korgeski has dealt with problems at nursing homes before. She’s even weathered a few closures. That’s all part of her job as ombudsman coordinator for the Lackawanna County-based nonprofit, Serving Seniors.
"An ombudsman is an advocate for residents that reside in long-term care facilities," Korgeski said. "We advocate for those who can’t, we support those who can, and we ensure long term care residents live with dignity and respect."
Friday night’s closure of Mountain View Nursing and Rehabilitation on Stafford Avenue in Scranton presented something new. In her 16 years as an ombudsman, it was the first time she’d experienced a closure that needed to happen the day it was announced. 85 people needed new homes – and they needed them fast.
"Usually when there’s a facility closure, we have some notice and it might be the facility’s decision to," Korgeski said. "So if we have 20 residents that need to move it doesn’t all happen all (on) the same day. We might have a few residents go today, a few tomorrow."
The Pennsylvania Department of Health on Friday determined conditions inside Mountain View deteriorated to the point they presented immediate jeopardy to the people living there. Its fire safety system wasn’t working, and its electricity was inadequate, according to a letter sent to the nursing home's manager, Chaim Scheinbaum. Scheinbaum is also listed by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services as part-owner of the facility.
State health department records from the past year indicate the facility’s corporate office hadn’t been paying its bills. The state also noted the building itself could potentially have been sold off for unpaid taxes.
Korgeski stressed that it wasn’t a lack of patient care that prompted such an urgent relocation. She praised the staff at Mountain View as a group of dedicated people.
She also praised all those others who pulled together make such a move work.
"Pennsylvania Department of Health and the emergency management system coalition came on site, and they really did a superb job in working together as a team, making arrangements for transportation, looking at available facilities and making sure this transition for residents was very smooth," Korgeski said. "And my goal was to make sure that their rights were not violated and that they left that facility with dignity and that they were respected throughout."
Now, a week later, Korgeski said she is working to make sure that transition stays smooth for the people who were displaced from Mountain View and their families.