All residents of nursing home shut down by state have moved out
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- After being told a little more than a month ago to move out, all 142 residents of Union Printers Home in Colorado Springs have found a new place to live.
The nursing home was shut down in February by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment after an investigation into the facility's practices.
That investigation came amid the death of an 89-year-old resident who froze to death on a bench, dozens of complaints from residents, and multiple failed state inspections. It's the first time in ten years the state has closed a nursing home due to malfeasance.
The Division Director for CDPHE, Randy Kuykendall, says residents were moved where they wanted to go. He says some stayed in Colorado Springs while others moved to Denver and even out of state to be with their families.
“This is a vulnerable population with a variety of physical and behavioral health needs," Kuykendall said. "I think overall we were quite successful in this move with absolutely no incident at all.”
However, the move wasn't easy for everyone. When it was announced the home would be shutting down, many like Janet Scofield didn't want to move.
“All we wanted was the standard of care federal and state laws demand," Scofield said. "That’s all we were asking.”
Kuykendall understands the frustration. However, he says this is the only option they had left after the nursing home failed to make necessary changes despite getting multiple chances to do so.
“This is their home and some of these folks have been there for many many years. That’s why the closure of a facility of this nature is a big decision and it takes a lot for us to force that to happen,” he said.
Then, while in the process of moving everyone, state authorities were hit with something they weren't anticipating: COVID-19. The growing pandemic created new precautions like screenings for anyone walking through the doors of any nursing home. Kuykendall says they applied the same precautions and, fortunately, there have been no cases reported for any of the 142 residents.
As for the owners of Union Printers Home, they're facing lawsuits for wrongful death and are still being investigated by the Colorado Springs Police Department for the death of the elderly resident back in February.
The family of the resident who died also plans on filing a lawsuit against the nursing home.
