News

Oct 12, 2023

Harmony Hall permanently closed

Harmony Hall Assisted Living Facility at 4153 Fairystone Park Highway in Bassett

Harmony Hall Assisted Living Facility at 4153 Fairystone Park Highway in Bassett has closed its doors permanently and its 26 residents have already been relocated elsewhere.

This sign, indicating Harmony Hall had been closed, was placed on the side door and front door of the building in Bassett.

Harmony Hall Assisted Living Facility in Bassett has been closed permanently due to action taken by the Department of Social Services, according to former staff members at the facility.

An assisted living facility in Bassett has been forced by the state to close.

Harmony Hall, at 4153 Fairystone Park Highway, had been licensed for as many as 50 residents, but there were only 24 when the facility shut down on May 4.

"It is with deep sorrow that I must say Harmony Hall has been closed," some of the staff posted on the facility's Facebook page. "Social Services made the decision that the building was too old, and while we tried to do all we could, it wasn't enough."

The statement, credited to "Chris, Thai, Jennifer, Stephen, and all the crew," said the state "is currently systematically closing down homes that exist off of Medicaid patients and citing the buildings."

"The sad truth is, Medicaid doesn't pay enough to hire staff, care for the residents properly, and maintain a mint condition building," the statement continued. "Please reach out to your representatives to advocate for all the ALF's [assisted living facilities] out there fighting (over 24 are listed to potentially close right now)."

The statement did not make clear which facilities, other than Harmony Hall, might close.

Voicemails left by the Bulletin to Amy Rice, director of the Henry-Martinsville Department of Social Services, went unreturned on Thursday and Friday, and emails to Department of Social Services (DSS) Inspector Holly Copeland also went unanswered.

Public records made available online by the DSS show Copeland having inspected Harmony Hall most recently on March 30.

Those records indicate a one-year license granted to the facility expired on Jan. 19, 2022, with an explanation that if the facility reapplied before the expiration date, "the facility may continue to operate pending action" by the DSS.

The records did not make indicate whether Harmony Hall had reapplied or not.

On the March 30 inspection, Chris Rorrer was listed as the administrator and the facility provided services to 26 residents.

Copeland noted that her inspection began at 9 a.m. and ended at 12:30 p.m. and during that time, 22 violations related to record-keeping were cited.

Other violations noted in Copeland's report included a lack of evidence that the direct care staff had attended the minimum of 18 hours of annual training and the facility was unable to secure appropriate care for one of the residents.

Copeland stated that Harmony Hall was not eligible to retain any resident that became non-ambulatory and one of the 26 residents was determined to be in such a condition.

Copeland wrote in her report that Harmony Hall failed to provide window coverings for privacy and ensure that cleaning supplies and other hazardous materials were locked.

Numerous violations were noted regarding the facility not begin in compliance including stained ceiling tile, a cracked door, various carpet stains and a broken doorway threshold.

"The wall at the back stairwell had a large hole behind the pipe on the upper part of the wall," Copeland wrote in her report. "The women's lavatory, across from room 19, had broken floor tiles and wall damage outside of the shower to the right."

Copeland also wrote that a sitting room had what appeared to be white paint splashed on a pink wall and the dining room had ceiling stains and damage, a hole in the ceiling, dust-covered duct work grills and a broken rubber strip on the steps from the dining room to the kitchen, creating a tripping hazard.

She also noted dark ceiling stains in the hallway, a bathroom with an "out-of-order" sign on an opened door revealing dark stains on the bathroom walls, cabinet, and ceiling, and a large hole in the wall beside the toilet.

Outside, a picnic table next to the building had a broken bench and to the left of the front of the facility were leaves, bicycles, a scooter, roller skates, PVC pipes, a ladder, and a washer and dryer.

Copeland noted wall damage near the steps leading to the dining room from the front door of the facility, and dirt and debris were on the floor inside room 11.

Across the hallway, Copeland found a bathroom with paint and drywall damage on the ceiling above the toilets and stains on the walls. A shower had drywall and paint damage, and there were orange-colored stains on the walls above the sinks.

A resident occupied room 17 where, Copeland wrote, it was "cluttered with clothes, trash, and other items making it unable to see the floor or to be able to walk freely through the room"

Room 19 had an air conditioner with a missing cover. Copeland wrote that she observed dust and dirt on the front of the unit and more dirt and debris on the floor.

A bathroom near room 19 had a dirty and dusty ceiling vent, walls and floor as well as paint and plaster damage, missing floor tile, and peeling paint on the ceiling.

More ceiling stains were found in a bathroom in the dining room along with a loose ceiling vent, paint and plaster damage by the toilet, sink, and baseboard by the door.

Similar problems were described with other bathrooms including rusty stains around the sinks.

"Room 4 was noted to have bed bug debris and dirt and other debris around and under the first and second beds, paint and plaster damage around the window with the air conditioner, and paint and plaster damage on the wall in the corner by the third bed," wrote Copeland. "Dirt and debris was noted on the floor by the radiator in the hallway and room 5 was noted to have paint and plaster damage by the baseboard at the head on the first bed and by the window."

More loose baseboards and dirt and debris were found in other areas of the facility as well.

Copeland wrote that a foul odor was detected coming from a bathroom across from the kitchen, light fixtures had insect debris and three beds in room 19 had bed bug debris on the box springs of the beds.

Bed bug debris was found in three other beds, and Copeland noted a violation was issued to the facility on Feb. 16 resulting from a health inspection that revealed cockroach debris on the floor in the kitchen.

"At 9:29 a.m. on the date of the inspection, I observed five glue cards on the kitchen floor (behind the stove, under the sinks, and next to the refrigerator) which had numerous cockroach carcasses stuck to them," Copeland wrote.

Other infractions included broken window blinds, torn curtains, dresser drawers that would not open or close, stained mattresses, scratched and faded dining room tables, dusty blinds with black stains, dirt and debris in bathtubs, sinks that were loose from the wall, dirty shower curtains, dirty floor mats, soiled couches, debris and grease on and in a kitchen stove, and the use of multiple electric space heaters.

Copeland noted that on Feb. 9, Harmony Hall had been cited after a fire inspection for allowing space heaters to be operated too close to combustibles, without the required three-foot clearance and with the use of extension cords.

Some light bulbs were found to be inoperable, fire evacuation procedures were not in order and emergency drinking water was inadequate.

On Saturday, the building that originally had been a church was closed with signs on the doors that read "Harmony Hall is officially closed effective noon May the 4th."

The property, assessed at $263,600, was owned by Ted Balabanis, who died in February 2022.

The long-term care industry has lost more than 9,500 workers in the state since February 2020, according to the Virginia Health Care Association-Virginia Association of Assisted Living, but Harmony Hall did not appear to be lacking in personnel.

"We appreciate all the wonderful years we have had here and the amazing community that has supported us throughout all of them," the staff wrote on Harmony Hall's Facebook page. "We would not have been able to provide the care we have been so proud of without everyone's contributions, so thank you to everyone."

Bill Wyatt is a reporter for the Martinsville Bulletin. He can be reached at 276-591-7543. Follow him @billdwyatt.

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Bill Wyatt is a reporter for the Martinsville Bulletin. He can be reached at 276-591-7543. Follow him @billdwyatt on Twitter.