Jefferson Hills Healthcare and Rehabilitation, the nursing home that shut down abruptly Friday, is blaming both a cyberattack and strict enforcement by the state for what went wrong.Meanwhile, there was good news Monday for some of the employees who were not being paid. They’ve landed new jobs at a new place.Southwestern Nursing and Rehabilitation confirms it’s hired more than 20 former employees of Jefferson Hills Healthcare and Rehabilitation. Many of those workers had stopped working when Jefferson Hills stopped paying them.The state health department forced Jefferson Hills to close Friday because patients were considered in “immediate jeopardy” due to lack of staff.”Oh, it has to be traumatizing. It definitely has to be traumatizing. It seems very abrupt,” said Anita Coffey, of WeCare At Penn nursing home in Wilkinsburg, which is not involved in the situation. “I feel like family, workers, everybody should have had a little forewarning if things were going bad.””Southwestern Nursing and Rehabilitation center was able to hire a number of staff members and would like to recognize the compassion these employees showed staying with their residents during a difficult time,” said administrator Sara Delp via email. “We also were honored to accept a number of residents and look forward to providing a smooth transition, and excellent care and hospitality to enhance their ability to LiveWell.”As for the 45 patients who lived at Jefferson Hills Healthcare and Rehabilitation, Allegheny County confirms 35 of them are now at the county Kane nursing home locations in McKeesport and Ross Township. Others are at Southwestern or other facilities.In a statement posted online, Jefferson Hills Healthcare and Rehabilitation blames a cyberattack on a claim and payment clearinghouse owned by United Healthcare for worsening their cash flow.It also complains it has “continuously been burdened with fines and threats from the DOH, (Pa. Department of Health), who have been a constant presence in our facility, resulting in a chaotic environment for both our residents and staff.”It also says admissions ban and restrictions by the state severely limited its cash flow.Coffey told Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 she drove from Wilkinsburg to Jefferson hills Healthcare and Rehabilitation to offer assistance in placing patients but was quickly turned away.”I drove here to see if we could help or anything like that. And they were pretty abrupt and told me everybody was taken care of and already placed. Basically didn’t want me here,” Coffey said.The full statement provided by Bonamour Health Group and Jefferson Hills Healthcare Operating, LLC appears below.”On February 21, 2024 a cyber-attack occurred on a crucial claim and payment clearinghouse named “CHANGE”. United Healthcare, the parent company of Change Healthcare confirmed in a statement that a ransomware group gained access to its database. Change, after consultations with law enforcement and cybersecurity experts were able to identify the source of the breach and made the very difficult decision to shut down its billing and payment platform. This disconnect has affected almost every skilled nursing facility nationwide, including Jefferson Hills Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center.”As a result of this breach and platform shutdown, cash flow to providers across the country has been impacted, creating a devastating domino effect in the healthcare system nationwide. The American Healthcare Association/National Center for Assisted Living Thursday evening requested support at the federal level for “quick relief” since this clearinghouse processes approximately 90% of all skilled nursing billing claims for Medicare, Medicaid, and Managed care providers. To date, there has not been a response. United Healthcare currently has 112 disconnected systems within its internal network, meaning the processing system for claims submission and payments remains offline. So far, CMS (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services) has issued no guidance for billing practices and is unclear as to the extent of time the platforms may be offline. This action has had a dramatic impact on the cash flow of Jefferson Hills Operating, LLC and the ability to provide quality care efficiently and effectively to the residents we care for.”Moreover, because of this cyber-attack and the immediate impact to cash flow, the Pennsylvania Department of Health’s Pittsburgh Field office placed the facility in “immediate jeopardy” due to a missed payroll cycle on 2/23/2204 This missed payroll was directly due to the cash flow challenges faced because of Change’s refusal to process our payments since February 21, 2024. This was just the last of a string of multiple restrictions and bans placed upon the facility since change of ownership on 6/29/2022. Since the change of ownership, the facility has been victim to “G” level deficiencies resulting from incidents occurring under the prior owners’ time frame. We have continuously been burdened with fines and threats from DOH who have been a constant presence in our facility, resulting in a chaotic environment for both our residents and staff. Through November 2023 the facility had benefited from a stabilized management team, and we were poised and excited to move Jefferson Hills Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center forward, however an admissions ban was then placed on the facility for a period of three months. The facility Nursing Home Administrator contacted the Department of Health numerous times before Christmas regarding the ban and was told they would be in contact after the holidays to discuss the lifting of the ban. Unfortunately, DOH further continued the ban without providing any reason. This continued to severely hamper the facility’s cash flow. Despite the admission ban, Jefferson continued to cover ALL payrolls and vendor bills, ensuring a safe environment for our residents.”On January 26, 2024, the facility received notification of an “easement” in the ban allowing three admissions per week, however stipulations remained for times and days admissions were allowed. These impositions created an even further challenge to our revenue stream as the facility was only at 50% capacity. With the challenges created from the above-mentioned circumstances, combined with the cyber-attack occurring on 2/21/2024 impacting the ability to maintain staffing levels at Jefferson Hills Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center, the decision was made to temporarily close the facility effectively 3/1/2024 to give the sister facilities a chance to succeed.”This was not a decision we wanted to make, as our primary goal was always to create a home- like environment for our residents, a stable place of employment in our community and to support our local healthcare providers. We truly hope that the local, state and federal level officials will take swift action to relieve these unnecessary and compounding burdens impacting long-term care providers across the country for the sake of our elders and our communities served.”We want to thank the community, our healthcare partners, and the employees who have continuously supported Jefferson Hills Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center and wish each and every one of you success in your future endeavors.”
Jefferson Hills Healthcare and Rehabilitation, the nursing home that shut down abruptly Friday, is blaming both a cyberattack and strict enforcement by the state for what went wrong.
Meanwhile, there was good news Monday for some of the employees who were not being paid. They’ve landed new jobs at a new place.
Southwestern Nursing and Rehabilitation confirms it’s hired more than 20 former employees of Jefferson Hills Healthcare and Rehabilitation. Many of those workers had stopped working when Jefferson Hills stopped paying them.
The state health department forced Jefferson Hills to close Friday because patients were considered in “immediate jeopardy” due to lack of staff.
“Oh, it has to be traumatizing. It definitely has to be traumatizing. It seems very abrupt,” said Anita Coffey, of WeCare At Penn nursing home in Wilkinsburg, which is not involved in the situation. “I feel like family, workers, everybody should have had a little forewarning if things were going bad.”
“Southwestern Nursing and Rehabilitation center was able to hire a number of staff members and would like to recognize the compassion these employees showed staying with their residents during a difficult time,” said administrator Sara Delp via email. “We also were honored to accept a number of residents and look forward to providing a smooth transition, and excellent care and hospitality to enhance their ability to LiveWell.”
As for the 45 patients who lived at Jefferson Hills Healthcare and Rehabilitation, Allegheny County confirms 35 of them are now at the county Kane nursing home locations in McKeesport and Ross Township. Others are at Southwestern or other facilities.
In a statement posted online, Jefferson Hills Healthcare and Rehabilitation blames a cyberattack on a claim and payment clearinghouse owned by United Healthcare for worsening their cash flow.
It also complains it has “continuously been burdened with fines and threats from the DOH, (Pa. Department of Health), who have been a constant presence in our facility, resulting in a chaotic environment for both our residents and staff.”
It also says admissions ban and restrictions by the state severely limited its cash flow.
Coffey told Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 she drove from Wilkinsburg to Jefferson hills Healthcare and Rehabilitation to offer assistance in placing patients but was quickly turned away.
“I drove here to see if we could help or anything like that. And they were pretty abrupt and told me everybody was taken care of and already placed. Basically didn’t want me here,” Coffey said.
The full statement provided by Bonamour Health Group and Jefferson Hills Healthcare Operating, LLC appears below.
“On February 21, 2024 a cyber-attack occurred on a crucial claim and payment clearinghouse named “CHANGE”. United Healthcare, the parent company of Change Healthcare confirmed in a statement that a ransomware group gained access to its database. Change, after consultations with law enforcement and cybersecurity experts were able to identify the source of the breach and made the very difficult decision to shut down its billing and payment platform. This disconnect has affected almost every skilled nursing facility nationwide, including Jefferson Hills Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center.
“As a result of this breach and platform shutdown, cash flow to providers across the country has been impacted, creating a devastating domino effect in the healthcare system nationwide. The American Healthcare Association/National Center for Assisted Living Thursday evening requested support at the federal level for “quick relief” since this clearinghouse processes approximately 90% of all skilled nursing billing claims for Medicare, Medicaid, and Managed care providers. To date, there has not been a response. United Healthcare currently has 112 disconnected systems within its internal network, meaning the processing system for claims submission and payments remains offline. So far, CMS (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services) has issued no guidance for billing practices and is unclear as to the extent of time the platforms may be offline. This action has had a dramatic impact on the cash flow of Jefferson Hills Operating, LLC and the ability to provide quality care efficiently and effectively to the residents we care for.
“Moreover, because of this cyber-attack and the immediate impact to cash flow, the Pennsylvania Department of Health’s Pittsburgh Field office placed the facility in “immediate jeopardy” due to a missed payroll cycle on 2/23/2204 This missed payroll was directly due to the cash flow challenges faced because of Change’s refusal to process our payments since February 21, 2024. This was just the last of a string of multiple restrictions and bans placed upon the facility since change of ownership on 6/29/2022. Since the change of ownership, the facility has been victim to “G” level deficiencies resulting from incidents occurring under the prior owners’ time frame. We have continuously been burdened with fines and threats from DOH who have been a constant presence in our facility, resulting in a chaotic environment for both our residents and staff. Through November 2023 the facility had benefited from a stabilized management team, and we were poised and excited to move Jefferson Hills Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center forward, however an admissions ban was then placed on the facility for a period of three months. The facility Nursing Home Administrator contacted the Department of Health numerous times before Christmas regarding the ban and was told they would be in contact after the holidays to discuss the lifting of the ban. Unfortunately, DOH further continued the ban without providing any reason. This continued to severely hamper the facility’s cash flow. Despite the admission ban, Jefferson continued to cover ALL payrolls and vendor bills, ensuring a safe environment for our residents.
“On January 26, 2024, the facility received notification of an “easement” in the ban allowing three admissions per week, however stipulations remained for times and days admissions were allowed. These impositions created an even further challenge to our revenue stream as the facility was only at 50% capacity. With the challenges created from the above-mentioned circumstances, combined with the cyber-attack occurring on 2/21/2024 impacting the ability to maintain staffing levels at Jefferson Hills Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center, the decision was made to temporarily close the facility effectively 3/1/2024 to give the sister facilities a chance to succeed.
“This was not a decision we wanted to make, as our primary goal was always to create a home- like environment for our residents, a stable place of employment in our community and to support our local healthcare providers. We truly hope that the local, state and federal level officials will take swift action to relieve these unnecessary and compounding burdens impacting long-term care providers across the country for the sake of our elders and our communities served.
“We want to thank the community, our healthcare partners, and the employees who have continuously supported Jefferson Hills Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center and wish each and every one of you success in your future endeavors.”
