ADHS: Hacienda's Skilled Nursing Facility to close
PHOENIX - New details have emerged about the embattled Hacienda HealthCare facility in South Phoenix.
On Tuesday, state health officials confirmed to FOX 10 that Hacienda plans to close the Skilled Nursing Facility on that campus. Meanwhile, families with loved ones in that facility say they are left scrambling, trying to figure out what to do next.
"I have no problems with Hacienda. They have taken good care of him. He's got wonderful nurses," said Judy Shingleton. Her grandson, Dillon Owens, is a fulltime patient at the Hacienda Skilled Nursing Facility.
For Owens, a brain tumor led to multiple surgeries, and one surgery left him with brain damage, requiring him to be hydrated through a tube.
"They can hook him up to the IV and it just goes into the tube, and it just goes in at a slow pace," said Shingleton.
Last Friday, Shingleton and her family were informed that the Skilled Nursing Facility is shutting down, and all of the patients would need to find somewhere else to go.
"Now the sodium's where it needs to be, and now we're going to have to move him and be worried that they're going to be able to care for him in the way he needs to be cared for. This is a major medical issue for him," said Shingleton.
The Skilled Nursing Facility is housed in the same building as the ICF wing, where an incapacitated patient was raped, and there were reports of maggots. Shingleton thought that side of the building would be shutting down, not her grandson's side.
"We weren't ready because they thought they were going to close the other side," said Shingleton. "We didn't know when -- this is going to really disrupt him. He has no idea this is going on."
On Tuesday, Chris Minnick with the Arizona Department of Health Services released the following statement:
The Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) received notification from Hacienda that it will close its Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF).
To clarify, the SNF and the Hacienda Intermediate Care Facility for Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities (Hacienda ICF-IID) are separate licensed facilities located in the same address.
ADHS issued a Notice of Intent to Revoke the Hacienda ICF-IID license in June, but that does not mean the ICF-IID must close.
The health and safety of all residents at Hacienda is the top priority of ADHS and the Department is currently working with Hacienda on a settlement agreement that ensures that all Hacienda ICF-IID residents are living in a safe and therapeutic environment.