On September 6, Senator Mike McGuire (D-Healdsburg) sent a letter to the California Department of Public Health voicing his deep concern over the dangers of Brius’ plan to close three nursing homes in Humboldt County – Eureka, Pacific, and Seaview Rehabilitation and Wellness Centers.
In his letter to the state agency, Senator McGuire writes “I have reviewed the plans and I am deeply concerned that [Brius and Rockport] provide no timelines, no detail on the discharge process and no detail on the determination of relocating patients based on distance to family, prior transfer history or mitigation to ‘transfer trauma’ associated with the relocation of elderly and infirm.”
The Senator’s letter goes on to dismiss Rockport’s claim that they are not able to turn a profit at the three nursing homes, citing a decision by Partnership Healthplan of California – the organization responsible for administering Medi-Cal benefits in 14 Northern California counties including Humboldt – to provide Rockport with $931,370 in retroactive payments and a commitment not to implement reductions in Medi-Cal reimbursement rates.