Nursing home workers speak out against closure of south St. Louis facility

Mar. 2—ST. LOUIS — Nursing home workers represented by the Service Employees International Union spoke out Thursday against the closure of a 130-bed facility in the Carondelet neighborhood of St. Louis.

Yamura Smith, a certified medication technician who has worked at Riverview Care Center since March 2022, said workers were at first told that they would be able to transfer to Dutchtown Care Center, which is under the same ownership as Riverview.

But the SEIU said that of the 21 union-represented workers at Riverview, only five have been hired by the Dutchtown facility. Smith said others were told there weren't positions available for them.

Lisa Cox, spokesperson for the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, confirmed that on Feb. 17 the state was notified of the facility's plans to close. DHSS approved its plan to temporarily close on Feb. 21, and the last resident moved out on Tuesday.

The workers at Riverview voted to form a union in 2021, but had not reached a collective bargaining agreement with the nursing home.

The owners of Riverview could not be reached for comment on Thursday.

Riverview Care Center reported 38 residents in mid-February, down from 80 in May 2020, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, or CMS. The facility provides residential and assisted living, rehabilitation and skilled nursing. Riverview has a one-star rating from CMS. Dutchtown Care Center has a two-star rating.

Deborah Hickman said she worked as a housekeeper at Riverview for about two years, and was told Tuesday that there were no positions available at Dutchtown. She's looking for a job now, applying at hotels and restaurants.

Smith, the certified medication technician, said she had previously worked for about a decade at the Little Sisters of the Poor nursing home, which closed in 2018. In that case, she said workers were given months of warning, and the facility held a job fair on site to help people find other work. At the fair, she found a job at the Mary, Queen and Mother Center.

She said at Riverview Care Center, she was notified on Feb. 20 that the nursing home would be closing.

"Within a week, we were out of jobs," Smith said.

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