St. Louis, MO | Gateway to the West

Rare drought, abnormally warm weather, river so low the barges can't navigate. Terrifying stuff.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — The largest skilled nursing facility in St. Louis has closed suddenly, forcing about 170 residents to be bused to other care centers. Many left with nothing but the clothes they were wearing.

The abrupt shutdown of Northview Village Nursing Home on Friday came after workers learned they might not be paid and walked out, confusing residents and their relatives. Many family members gathered through the day Saturday outside the facility on the city’s north side. Some didn’t immediately know where their loved ones were taken.

Alvin Cooper of East St. Louis, Illinois, was preparing Monday to fill out a missing person’s report on his 35-year-old son. Alvin Cooper Jr. has lived at Northview Village for several months while recovering from a gunshot wound to the head and a drug addiction.

“They don’t know where he is,” Alvin Cooper said. “I’ve burnt two tanks of gas going back and forth to that nursing home trying to find out what’s going on. I don’t know if he’s somewhere safe or what’s going to happen to him.”

The difficulties started Friday when, according to the union representing workers, more than 130 people went unpaid, and it became unclear if their checks would be forthcoming.

Marvetta Harrison, 59, a certified medical technician, said workers received emails from the company this weekend promising they’ll be paid, but it was unclear when.

“This is real wrong,” Harrison said. “I have worked in that building for 37 years. Not only did they mistreat us, they mistreated the residents we take care of.”

Northview Village has been fined 12 times for federal violations since March 2021, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Fines totaled over $140,000 and ranged from $2,200 to more than $45,000. The federal agency gives Northview a one-star rating out of a possible five, but doesn’t spell out reasons for the fines.

In addition, the state health department website lists nearly two dozen Northview investigations since 2016. The most recent complaint, from February, said a resident was able to get out of the building through an unsecured door. A 2021 complaint alleged the facility failed to investigate allegations that residents left the nursing home and brought drugs into it.

Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services spokeswoman Lisa Cox said the agency was notified around 4:15 p.m. Friday that the nursing home was closing. The operator implemented an evacuation plan and emergency medical service workers helped relocate residents to other nursing homes, Cox said in a statement Monday.

“The final resident left the facility before 6 a.m. Saturday,” Cox said. “Our team continued working through the weekend following up with the receiving facilities to check in on the residents who had been transferred.”

Shamell King, an assistant manager at another St. Louis-area nursing home, Superior Manor, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that some Northview Village residents arrived without paperwork documenting their medical histories or medication needs.

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I don't know about y'all, but to me this sure sounds like a drunk police officer crashed their car and arrested the witnesses.

Video ranking Midwestern cities by transit, affordability, and vibes. St. Louis gets a comfortable A rank.

Fun little guide put together by STLPR. Anything missing or wrong?

STLPR put out this neat collection of articles aimed at new members of the STL community. Lots of good stuff in there to share.

Guerrilla furniture?

Google the recent issues at KDHX to learn more. If you're not happy with the Board of Directors' decisions to get rid of quite a few of the long-time programmers please sign this petition.

Hey, looking to get my nose pierced sometime in the next few weeks and I am pretty lost. Never had any tattoos or piercings but I want it done correctly. Is there any shops I should go to OR any shops I should avoid? It seems like it is a pretty simple process but I'm a body mod virgin and want to make sure it's done right.

Whoever said we weren't on the cutting edge? 😉 Congrats to Graphite Lab; this is too cool.

I've a friend who lives in San Francisco who is in a moderately successful band. They recently concluded a tour through the midwest, where they played Indianapolis, Louisville, Nashville, and Chicago, among other cities. No STL dates at all.

Les Claypool's Frog Brigade is on tour as well, and skipped STL but did play in Peoria, Louisville, and KC this spring.

Last year, the closest Nightwish came was Chicago.

I get Songkick notifications for other bands -- mostly metal and eclectic -- and more often than not, they are playing everywhere but STL. After living for 20+ years in Seattle, I miss having bands come and play even the small clubs.

To avoid sounding petulant, there have been some tours I looked forward to that came to Pop's in Sauget, but I'm sure there are other bands people here like that have bypassed STL venues as well.

So: Anyone have any ideas why STL gets passed over in favor of Nashville and Louisville?

Love to see it. I hope this translates to more support for our public transit.