A company that owns one of Idaho’s only independent psychiatric hospitals has declared bankruptcy, putting the future of the facility in question, the Lewiston (Idaho) Tribune reported. Safe Haven Healthcare is continuing to operate its Boise hospital and three assisted living and skilled nursing facilities in Bellevue and Wendell, but some employees have quit and others are relying on a judge’s orders to get their paychecks, the Idaho Statesman reported. Safe Haven owner Scott Burpee said that the financial crisis was caused in part by a fire that gutted the company’s Pocatello hospital last fall, along with a failed buyout by an employee. The company has faced other financial and operational problems recently, including an inspection that found that a lack of oversight by registered nurses contributed to patient deaths and fines from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Safe Haven told the court it owes more than $17 million and has just $10 million in assets to its name, mostly in the form of real estate. The debts listed on its bankruptcy filing include nearly $900,000 in overpayments to Medicaid that the state was recouping and about $7 million in lease payments that are in dispute. It also lists debts to East Coast lending firms that specialize in giving credit to businesses on short notice.
