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Facility Sanctions, Closure & Resident Relocation
Tip Sheet
Facilities close for a variety of reasons:
• Voluntary closure – the owner is retiring or moving or closing for some other reason
• Involuntary closure – the license is being revoked by Department of Human Services
• Emergency closure – the facility is suddenly closing due to flooding, fire, or some other emergent situation
A serious licensing situation can also lead to an emergency closure. The above-listed reasons for closure apply to both
nursing homes and personal care homes. However, the process for a voluntary or involuntary closure of a nursing home
is a bit more protracted. Sometimes, the Department of Health will impose third-party management on a nursing home
meaning that the residents stay put and the building is managed by an appointed entity until all the residents are
successfully re-located. Nursing home closures are quite rare. However, emergency situations do occur with fires,
floods, smoke, etc. and residents can be displaced abruptly and unexpectedly.
How we find out about a facility closure:
• The owner/operator may tell us via phone, email or during a facility visit
• The residents may contact the ombudsman or mention during a facility visit
• The licensing entity can contact us or the State Ombudsman office
• The media may cover an emergent situation like a fire or flooding
Licensing always notifies us that a facility is closing – when they know about it. Sometimes, smaller facilities fail to alert
the regulatory agency of their intentions to close/retire. We sometimes hear things during routine facility visits: i.e. “By
the way, we are planning on closing….” This information should be passed along immediately to your local and regional
coordinator.
Sometimes, the residents will tell an ombudsman that they were told they “have to move”. If you should hear something
like this during a facility visit, always try to connect with staff and inquire about the future of the facility. If they
confirm that they are indeed planning on closing, this should be shared immediately with your local and coordinator.
Typically, providers are to notify licensing and then licensing notifies us.
When DOH/DHS is revoking a license, we are often aware that the facility has been in jeopardy through notifications of
previous provisional licenses or other communication/risk management meetings. If DOH/DHS eventually decides to
revoke a license, they give us official notification via an email to the State Ombudsman office which is then forwarded to
the regional coordinator in your county.
Finally, you can turn on your local news or pick up your local paper only to find that there was a fire or some other type of
emergency evacuation of a facility in your county. When that happens, the ombudsman contacts licensing and the state
office and then proceeds to check up on the residents. The circumstances of the residents generally dictate the response
of the ombudsman program.
Office of the LTC Ombudsman
Version 1.0 September 2020
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