As Cedar Health closes, staff will help residents transition out

By Kate Hayden, khayden@charlescitypress.com

The day after Mike Steinkruger announced Cedar Health would close on Dec. 2, he met with families and residents to answer questions about the process in the first-floor dining room.

“This is a very difficult situation for me, but more importantly, it’s a difficult situation for you,” Steinkruger, the manager member of MMS Healthcare LLC, told the family members gathered.

Five other representatives from state and private monitoring organizations, including Disability Rights Iowa, the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals and a local ombudsman with the Iowa Department of Aging, were present to talk through procedures and services for Cedar Health residents.

Steinkruger said he is closing Cedar Health partly because the business wasn’t adequately reimbursed for costs through Medicaid, due to the Iowa Department of Human Services’ budget shortfall.

At the same time, he said, Cedar Health lost Medicare patients and revenue, partly because local hospitals are now serving Medicare inpatients longer to make sure they don’t need to return for additional hospital care.

“I have a seven-bed rehab-to-home unit, and it was full for the first three months. I haven’t had anybody for the last 15 (months),” Steinkruger told the Press after the meeting.

During the discussion, Steinkruger told residents he had attempted to sell the business to keep it operating, but had no interest from potential buyers.

Steinkruger is required to give residents 60 days notice ahead of Cedar Health’s closure, but both he and the state representatives said Cedar Health will serve residents until they have a new location established.

“I will make sure it’s staffed” until all the residents leave, Steinkruger told families. “A lot (of staff) have verbally said they’ll be here until the end.

“It’s not as easy as it used to be, but that doesn’t mean we give up.”

Dawn Fisk, a division administrator with the Department of Inspections and Appeals, told families her office will continue regular surveys of Cedar Health throughout the process to ensure residents receive the level of care they expect.

Fisk also added that her department did not take action that caused Steinkruger to close the facility.

“We’re not de-certifying or revoking a license here. This was Mike’s decision, and no action was taken against him by our department,” Fisk said.

Cedar Health currently has 46 residents living at the facility, which has 57 total beds. The facility also includes a 12-bed Alzheimer’s unit.

Six residents have confirmed finding a new location, and Steinkruger said he has been in contact with nine facilities interested in helping residents relocate in the region.

“It’s the resident’s choice where they get to go. We feel that they will all be placed rather quickly,” Steinkruger told the Press.

Salisbury Baptist Home first operated from 1958 to 2007, when it was sold to ACC Enterprises. The business was purchased in 2014 by MMS Healthcare LLC. Steinkruger, also the director of operations, expanded the business to create Cedar Bridge-Rehab to Home, offering area residents in-home health aid services.

Steinkruger is also the managing member of a separate LLC and nursing home/senior living facility, Valley View in Greene. That facility will remain open and is not in danger of closing, Steinkruger said.

Responding to public questions, Steinkruger said he will take steps to ensure Valley View’s current 26 residents and their families are aware of Cedar Health’s closing.

“Overhead (cost in Greene) is smaller, and I have different levels of care,” Steinkruger told the Press. “It’s a different operation. My big concern today is Cedar Health, and the financials of Greene are not an issue.”

Chautauqua Guest Homes has offered to host a job fair on Friday for Cedar Health employees interested in interviewing there, Steinkruger said.

He added that  Iowa Workforce Development has also promised Cedar Health employees unemployment and re-training benefits if they remain with Cedar Health until the last resident moves out.

Steinkruger told families that Cedar Health needs residents’ permission to share medical records with other care facilities, but once permission is granted, any preferred facility will be allowed to meet with patients and assess what kind of environment that patient needs.

“Everybody sitting here wants good care for your residents,” Susan Ayers, administrator of Chautuaqua Guest Homes, told families. “I have to commend this (Cedar Health) staff — I feel very comfortable working with them. Our goal is good care.”

“It’s a very difficult day with families. … I’m very close to my families. It’s difficult,” Steinkruger said.