Families of residents at Savannah Court of Lake Oconee will have to wait at least another two months to find out if the senior care facility on Willow Road in Greensboro will be closed by the Georgia Department of Community Health (DCH).
The DCH, which regulates healthcare facilities, sent an Intent to Revoke License notice to the senior care center following a series of inspections that ended Aug. 1, 2023.
The state alleged that Savannah Court had violated the terms of a March 23, 2023 settlement agreement.
The agency cited Savannah Court for failing to supervise residents consistent with their needs, failing to have a nurse or certified medication aide on-site at all times, and not ensuring that each resident “received care and services which are adequate, appropriate and in compliance” with state and federal laws.
“All of this is stressful, just trying to see what is going happen,” a relative of a current Savannah Court resident told the Lake Oconee News. This relative, who asked not to be identified, said in the past year or so there have been four different directors at Savannah Court.
“We’ve been pleased with how caring the individual staff members are,” the relative said. “We’ve had irritating things. Things they could do a better job on. Certainly, the place needs maintenance. Its older. They need to put a little money into it.”
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution broke the story of the revocation notice in an investigative report published Jan. 3 this year. The AJC report revealed that DCH has cited Savannah Court with more than 70 violations since 2021, including two deaths in April 2022.
The Atlanta newspaper questioned why there have been two settlements in that period instead of more severe consequences, especially since a 2020 state law was designed to hold Georgia’s 1,686 assisted living and personal care facilities more accountable.
Savannah Court appealed the Aug. 17, 2023 revocation order.
The hearing was held over three days: Jan. 3, Jan. 30, and Feb. 2, 2024. During the hearings, Savannah Court’s lawyers grilled DCH investigators and their supervisor, whose evaluations determined the violations. The DCH attorneys sought to pinpoint how the incidents specifically violated the agency’s regulations.
Rebecca Clark, director of corporate operations for Senior Living Management, the company that manages Savannah Court, testified about how more staff has been hired, additional training being done, and other improvements completed in recent months.
At the end of the Feb. 2 hearing, Judge Charles Beaudrot decided to have both parties give written summations. He said there was a lot of detail and didn’t think oral arguments would help. He also made an ominous comment to the DCH attorneys.
“I’m not real clear precisely the basis for revocation,” Beaudrot said, “and so I would like to know exactly what the state’s position is.”
He gave DCH lawyers until March 8 to submit their summary brief and a proposed order for the judge to consider.
Lawyers for Savannah Court will have until March 29 to write their response, closing arguments, and suggested order for the judge. The judge generally takes up to 30 days to make a ruling.
So, it may be mid-April, eight months after Savannah Court of Lake Oconee was told its license to operate would be revoked, before there is a decision. In the meantime, the senior living facility continues to operate.