ST. LOUIS – After a FOX 2 report that a man was missing, apparently slipping through bureaucratic cracks following the closure of a north St. Louis nursing home weeks ago, police are asking for help in finding Frederick “Freddie” Carruthers.
There are calls for the state of Missouri to take decisive action against the owner of the Northview Village Home in north St. Louis, which closed December 15 with little to no warning for residents, their families, and staff.
The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services confirmed it has launched an investigation of Northview’s operator, Healthcare Accounting Services, LLC, or HAS. The company has an office in Brentwood. Staff there had no comment regarding Northview Village.
Police issued an Endangered Silver Advisory for Carruthers, 61, on Wednesday, saying he suffered from schizophrenia and was without needed medication.
Police believe he may still be in the area around Northview Village. He’s been known to frequent a White Castle restaurant near Kingshighway and Natural Bridge.
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Carruthers has no known family and has been a ward of the state, with the Public Administrator of the City of St. Louis named as his legal guardian in 2011.
“It’s really scary to know that he’s still out there. We really hope that he’s safe,” said Majorie Moore, executive director of VOYCE, an agency that advocates for those living in long-term care and nursing homes.
VOYCE is one of the groups reaching out to the 175 former residents of Northview Village. All have been accounted for except Carruthers, Moore said.
Northview residents found out the home was closing only hours before they were sent elsewhere, in most cases without their belongings, according to authorities.
“When you have to move in a moment’s notice to a place that you have no idea where you’re going, often in an unfamiliar place, this is really hard for anybody but especially people like the folks who lived in this facility,” Moore said. “A lot of those folks have behavioral health issues; a lot of them have dementia issues. In all of that chaos, a lot of people really started missing their items. We’ve had people asking for their family bibles that are now gone. We’re hoping one day they’ll resurface.”
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A staff of nearly 170 has also been put out of work.
Under state law, HAS was required to give the State of Missouri 60-day advance notice of closure, Moore said.
HAS operates four other St. Louis area facilities, in St. Louis, Fenton, Edwardsville, Illinois, and Maryville, Illinois, according to its website.
“I’m really hoping both the organization and the people involved in the ownership of the organization are held accountable for the mess and the chaos because the residents didn’t need to go through all of this. The staff didn’t need to go through all of this,” Moore said.
No one should go missing when a nursing home closes, she said.
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