A company that bought six nursing homes across rural Oklahoma this month also acquired more than $500,000 in overdue lease payments from the homes’ operator, and the homes can’t pay their rent.
Trinik Holdings wants to bring in a new tenant, but said in court filings that simply evicting the operator would be harmful to the residents who need specialized care.
The landlord asked the Oklahoma County District Court to appoint Brandon Morgan as the receiver to manage the day-to-day business of the nursing homes in Hennessey, McAlester, Lindsay, Marlow, Crescent and Anadarko, according to The Journal Record’s Dale Denwalt:
The court has tasked Morgan to take over the nursing homes’ operations immediately. Mike Cook, director of the Department of Health’s Long Term Care Service, said Morgan has a good record with the agency. There are pitfalls when a nursing home changes hands or closes, though. “The biggest thing is just to make sure that if we’re going to have to transfer them that they find a place that is reasonably close and that will work for that resident,” said Cook. “These are very frail individuals, so you don’t want to pick them up from where they’re safe and take them somewhere else unless they’re comfortable with the outcome.”
Trinik can’t find a replacement and decides to shut down any of the nursing homes, it has to give residents 30 days’ notice. In the meantime, state health officials and senior advocates will make sure regulations are followed.
Renee Johnson, who advocates for nursing home residents in Pittsburg County with the Area Agency on Aging, said she will keep a close eye on homes that are in transition, but usually only if there have been worrisome complaints. “That is a really good facility in McAlester,” Johnson said of McAlester Manor. Protocol dictates that the Oklahoma Department of Health requests help from the Oklahoma long-term care ombudsman, who then notifies a local ombudsman like Johnson, who will start meeting with residents. “We’ll meet with their families,” she said. “We meet with anybody that’s hooked to that resident that is looking to help find placement someplace else, especially if you know the doors are going to close.”
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