The second attempted sale of a bankrupt Iowa nursing home chain may be held up yet again as the current owner reportedly has plans to close three of the 10 facilities.
QHC was expected to sell its portfolio to Cedar Health Group after a federal bankruptcy judge gave the green light to the deal back in March. The sale did not go through after one of Cedar Health Group’s lawyers proposed concerns regarding some of the facilities losing Medicare funding due to care quality issues, the Iowa Capital Dispatch first reported.
Shortly thereafter Blue Diamond Equities, a New Jersey-based privately owned real estate holdings and management company, emerged as the latest potential buyer for the 10 facilities, according to the report.
Then the Iowa-based operator shared with the court that it planned to seek “emergency closure” for three of its facilities: Sunnycrest Care Center in Dysart, QHC Humboldt South and QHC Mitchellville.
Iowa Capital Dispatch reporting found that the Humboldt South facility had a “flooring issue” and the Mitchellville and Dysart facilities were running at “a seriously diminished census level making it uneconomic to continue operations.”
But QHC still owes the federal government more than $2.1 million in fines and penalties for regulatory violations, as well as returning COVID-19 Accelerated and Advanced Payments it has received.
Blue Diamond has also reportedly told the federal government it does not plan to take up Medicare certification for several of the homes.
QHC Management, the company that managed the Iowa facilities, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy before the end of 2021 following some of the largest federal fines assessed on any skilled nursing operator in the state.
The operator provides skilled nursing, restorative nursing, respite care, physical therapy, long-term care, occupational therapy, hospice, dementia care, Alzheimer’s care and rehabilitation therapy across its facilities.
Married owners Jerry and Nancy Voyna took over the business after working “within the company home office” for 20-plus years, QHC’s website said. Court filings show Nancy Voyna as CEO, upon her husband’s death in June. The group was founded in 1977 as Quality Health Care Specialists Corp.
Their son, who inherited the company after the couple both died, has pursued the sales.
QHC claimed $1 million in assets and $26.3 million in liabilities in its bankruptcy filings.
QHC did not immediately return a request for comment.
Companies featured in this article:
Blue Diamond Equities, Cedar Health Group, QHC Facilities, QHC Management
