Missouri Nursing Home Forced to Close
A St. Louis County, Missouri nursing home was forced to close its doors and relocate its residents after county officials found unsanitary and unsafe conditions at the facility.
Whispering Oaks nursing home "had among its problems no running water, overflowing toilets, human waste on the floor and a fire risk caused by an inoperable sprinkler system", according to a news release from County Executive Charlie A. Dooley. According to Metro West Fire Officials, the well that supplied water to the facility had frozen.
Forty to fifty residents were transferred, some of whom relocated to the The Loving Care Home, located in St. Louis City.
According to the Missouri Department of Natural Resources (DNR), the DNR asked the state attorney general to take appropriate action after the facility's water failed to meet state water standards and the water system had been improperly modified. The DNR "contacted the business owners of this site multiple times but has not received an adequate response".
The facility has also had problems in the past. In May 2007, a resident died after suffering an asthma attack. An investigation revealed that facility staff were not trained on how to appropriately respond to the situation. In 2008, a variety of complaints led to an investigation that revealed that residents had been yelled at, cursed at, threatened, and touched in appropriately by a former staff member.
