VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — In less than a week, the Princess Anne Health and Rehabilitation Center is set to close.
On Monday, News 3 spoke with Kristi Benson, a woman who, at the beginning of September, told News 3 her mother resides at the facility. She expressed concerns about where her mother might go, and we now have an update.
"It's been really stressful trying to find another facility that will take her," Benson said.
For weeks, Benson has been searching for a suitable place to care for her 87-year-old mother, who has dementia.
We first spoke to her in early September, when she was uncertain if the facility where her mother stayed would close due to losing Medicare and Medicaid funding amid ongoing violations.
She has since noticed that more residents have been leaving the facility, many of whom were her mother’s friends.
"All of the people that she normally eats with, sits with, and does activities with, they've all gone. She knows that something is going on. It's unsettling because the building is so empty," Benson said.
The Princess Anne Health & Rehabilitation Center notified its residents that the facility will be closing on Oct. 5 after losing its certification for failure to meet federal healthcare standards, according to a letter obtained by News 3.
A facility spokesperson provided the following statement to News 3 about the closure:
Princess Anne Health & Rehabilitation Center continues to try to work collaboratively with VDH to avoid the displacement of residents, if possible. We are communicating all scenarios with residents and families to provide as much information and notice as possible.
Benson tells us she has now found a facility for her mother to move to and was helping her on Monday.
She described the whole process as eye-opening.
"When I would go and tour the places, I don't even know how these buildings passed inspection. The buildings were falling apart; they were filthy, and there was inadequate staff. People were hanging half out of their beds. It's like this everywhere," Benson said.
Thankfully, Benson noted that her mother didn’t experience these conditions at Princess Anne Health and Rehabilitation.
However, last week, we reported that a lawsuit had been filed against the facility for what the defendant's family claims was improper care. After examining court records, we also found that a wrongful death lawsuit had been filed against the facility earlier this year.
Benson believes that increased funding for nursing home programs could help prevent such issues.
"A lot of these falls and a lot of these things that are happening would not be happening if they had adequate staff," she said.
News 3 reached out to the organization overseeing Princess Anne Health and Rehabilitation about the pending litigation.
They stated that they cannot comment on ongoing litigation due to HIPAA standards.
