Facing closure, The Ivy nursing home sues state health department

The Ivy at Great Falls, the state’s largest nursing home that faces closure due to a long record of quality issues, is suing the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services.

The federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) initiated the pending closure of The Ivy in June. The agency terminated The Ivy’s participation in the health care reimbursement programs after numerous inspections revealed unsafe conditions and lapses in patient care.

The Ivy informed residents June 27 that its license was suspended and that it would be moving all residents by August. As of last week, some 65 residents had already been moved.

The Ivy filed its lawsuit July 19, more than three weeks after it began removing people from the facility. The company targeted DPHHS, the state-level agency, over claims that The Ivy had no opportunity to correct its noncompliance or review the termination, according to the lawsuit filed in Cascade County District Court.

“CMS has declined further to review the matter, or to order DPHHS surveyors to determine whether the Center has corrected any previously cited deficiencies. DPHHS, for its part, says its hands are tied by CMS,” The Ivy’s lawsuit says.

<bsp-list-loadmore data-module="" class=«PageListStandardB» data-gtm-region=«RELATED COVERAGE» data-gtm-topic=«No Value» data-show-loadmore=«true» data-parsely-url=«https%3A%2F%2Fapi.parsely.com%2Fv2%2Frelated%3Fapikey%3Dapnews.com%26url%3Dhttps%3A%2F%2Fapnews.com%2Fus-news%2Fnursing-homes-lawsuits-general-news-ba87b7568ae19c7211f10354970e0af4%26limit%3D9%26respect_empty_results%3D1%26sort%3D_score%26pub_date_start%3D2024-06-09%26exclude%3Dsection%3APress%20Releases%26exclude%3Dtags%3ACelebrity%20Birthdays» data-parsely-title=«Related Stories»