Oldham County nursing home to close its doors in January

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A nursing home in Oldham County said the COVID-19 pandemic is forcing its closure in January.

Friendship Health and Rehab in Pewee Valley, which has seen an outbreak of 155 coronavirus cases in its facility, announced Tuesday it will be closing on Jan. 29, 2021.

"We have been fighting this pandemic for almost 9 months now, and the costs and challenges associated with it, have simply been overwhelming, especially the last 2 months, and we anticipate the challenges persisting well into 2021," the facility said in a statement Tuesday.

Officials with Friendship Health said they are working with nursing homes in the area on a "safe, smooth and orderly discharge" to relocate residents soon.

Since the pandemic began in March, 107 residents at Friendship Health and Rehab have tested positive for the coronavirus, according to Kentucky Public Health. Twenty of those residents died from virus-related deaths. An additional 48 staff members have tested positive for the respiratory virus.

After the facility saw more than 80 cases last month, the Oldham County Health Department also made formal request for a nurse strike team from the state to offset losses to staffing and help manage the situation.

Several lawsuits have been filed against the facility, one claiming administrators ignored obvious signs that led to an elderly resident being abused. Richard Coleman, a former certified nursing assistant at the facility, is accused of violently sexually assaulting a resident in 2017.

A previous lawsuit, filed in December 2018, alleges that Coleman sexually harassed and assaulted at least four female nurses at the facility.

Coleman was fired from the facility in July 2018, six months after the alleged incidents took place.

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