Health

State Moves to Pull License for Corvallis Nursing Home

Investigators themselves couldn’t locate staff when residents asked for help.

Frost on ferns outside Corvallis. (Peter K. Ziminski/Shutterstock)

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State regulators are seeking to end the licensure of one of Oregon’s most troubled senior care facilities, Willamette Springs Memory Care in Corvallis.

In September, the Department of Human Services issued Mosaic Senior Living, which has operated the facility since 2016, a “proposed non-renewal” of its license to operate. This is an exceedingly rare move; the state hasn’t taken such action against a similar facility in years.

Willamette Springs has long battled state regulators and whistleblowers, who say it’s understaffed and mismanaged. Two former staffers filed whistleblower lawsuits, accusing Mosaic of covering up the problems at Willamette Springs. (Neither case made it to trial.) By 2022, regulators had tallied up so many serious violations that they put the facility under “enhanced supervision.”

By 2024, the non-renewal notice says, the facility was so understaffed that residents lacked assistance with eating. Falls and altercations between residents were commonplace, and investigators themselves couldn’t locate staff when residents asked for help.

The facility racked up $18,000 in fines it hasn’t paid. “Our community continues to work diligently to ensure residents receive care and services consistent with regulatory requirements,” says facility administrator Sarah Sheaffer, who noted that Willamette Springs passed its most recent inspection earlier this month.

A state spokesperson says DHS is continuing to review the facility’s compliance prior to making a final decision on its license renewal.

Lucas Manfield

Lucas Manfield covers health care.

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