Menlo nursing home set to close Menlo nursing home set to close (February 09, 2005)

** State denied owner a permanent license because of violations.

By Renee Batti

Almanac News Editor

The clock is ticking for Menlo Park Place Health Care Center, a nursing home with about 65 residents that will be forced to close its doors on April 7 unless a potential new owner is sanctioned by the state.

The Crane Street facility's current owner, Catherine Joseph, was denied a permanent license last month because of numerous violations of health and safety regulations set by the state Department of Health Services, according to department spokeswoman Norma Arceo.

Instead, Ms. Joseph was granted a 90-day extension of her current license, set to expire on April 7.

If Menlo Park Place is forced to close, it will be the second such facility to cease operations this year: University Convalescent Hospital at 2122 Santa Cruz Ave. closed last month.

Ms. Joseph would not comment for this story, and her attorney did not return the Almanac's phone call.

Although the health department is reviewing the background of a potential buyer who is applying for a license to run the facility at 1275 Crane St., "it's by far not a done deal," said Tippy Irwin, executive director of Ombudsman Services of San Mateo County. Her private nonprofit agency, whose volunteers are advocates for nursing home residents, has been operating under the belief that the facility will close, she said.

"Our role is ... assisting residents and-or their families to make a smooth transition," Ms. Irwin explained. "We would be looking out to make sure patients' rights are not violated."

She said a prime consideration is helping residents weather what is known as "transfer trauma," which can lead to death in elderly patients. "We really have to handle the situation delicately," Ms. Irwin said.

Ombudsman Services representatives have been at Menlo Park Place daily for the last several months because of all the problems they found there, Ms. Irwin said. She added that her agency will continue monitoring residents transferred from the facility to make sure they are placed in homes that will meet their particular needs.

On the whole, there are enough beds in the three-county area of San Mateo, Santa Clara and San Francisco to accommodate the potentially displaced nursing home residents, although space may be limited in specific geographic areas, according to a state health department official in the Daly City office.

Sophia Mendoza of Local 250 of the Service Employees International Union said that as of several months ago, there were about 120 employees at Menlo Park Place. But that figure has dwindled since August, with a number of employees getting pink slips or being placed "on call" but never called in for work, she said.

E-mail a friend a link to this story.