COLESVILLE, Md. — A powerful state legislator overseeing health care in Maryland says the looming eviction of 53 memory care patients from a facility in Colesville is "shocking."
Delegate Sandy Rosenberg, a Baltimore City Democrat who runs the House of Delegates Subcommittee on Long Term Care in Maryland, says the state’s regulations should offer more protection to vulnerable elders.
He’s urging to the company behind the eviction notice at The Landing of Silver Spring in Colesville to reconsider its 45-day notice to get out, while lawmakers work on possible changes.
“It shocks the conscience,” Rosenberg said when asked about the 45-day notice given residents and their families on Oct. 2.
45-day notice is all that is required in Maryland's law regulating Long Term Care facilities, when an owner wants to shut down.
Leisure Care, the operator of The Landing of Silver Spring announced Monday the property had been purchased by Omega Healthcare Investors and CommuniCare, which intent to close the facility for a year-long renovation to reopen as a higher-level skilled nursing facility.
The Landing of Silver Spring opened in 2019.
Rosenberg urged the investors to consider offering impacted families more that the minimum required by the state.
“We can only urge them to do something now," Rosenberg said. "This is a health care business and one hopes that they will act in the interest of the health of the people who are under their care.”
Omega Healthcare Investors, based in Hunt Valley, Maryland has not responded to WUSA9's requests for comment.
Leisure Care is required by its state license to assist residents in finding new accommodations, and must report when and where each resident is moved, according to Chase Cook, a spokesperson for the Maryland Department of Health.
The company promises to do all it can, a spokesperson said in an email to WUSA9.
Montgomery County has no oversight of healthcare facilities, but County Executive Marc Elrich urged residents in crisis to contact the County Health and Human Services, which offers a Long Term Care Health Ombudsman to help residents troubleshoot. Maryland's Department of Aging also offers an ombudsman program.
State health officials urge residents with complaints to contact the Department of Health's Office of Health Care Quality at 410-402-8047 or visit their web site at health.maryland.gov/ohcq/Pages/home.aspx.
"We are monitoring this situation to ensure all regulations are followed," Maryland Department of Health spokesperson Chase Cook wrote in a statement to WUSA9. "We also are reviewing the assisted living regulations to see if change can be made to further protect residents in situations like this. The Maryland Department of Health’s Office of Health Care Quality is in daily communication with The Landing and has requested daily updates on rehoming of its 53 residents. We will continue that enhanced communication until every individual has found a new location. The Long-Term Care Ombudsman from the Maryland Department of Aging is also in contact and assisting residents."
Shocked families said the closure announcement is nothing less than a crisis for them and their loved ones.
"She's being uprooted, and I'm afraid the move is going to kill her," said Kathleen Parry, said when asked about here 101-year-old mother Rosemary.
As of Friday, Parry said she has not yet confirmed a new location for her mother.