Laguna Honda outlines resident assessments and recertification work after CMS accepted closure plan

Laguna Honda Hospital and Rehabilitation Center informed the San Francisco Health Commission on May 17 that it is implementing a CMS‑accepted closure and transition plan and preparing in parallel for recertification.

CEO Michael Phillips said CMS approved the closure plan the previous week; DPH staff communicated the plan to employees and patients and held unit rounding and town halls to answer questions. Phillips described a two‑stage assessment process: an initial preliminary assessment of every resident has been completed and a more thorough follow‑up assessment is starting. He said the detailed assessment requires roughly three to four hours per resident and the plan commits to completing about nine assessments per week per unit.

Phillips said the department has been contacting potential placement facilities twice per week to identify available beds, and that some commonly known local facilities (for example, The Jewish Home and SF Towers) currently have no beds available. Laguna Honda will publish a dashboard for the Commission showing discharge and placement status on a rolling basis.

On recertification, Phillips said teams from HSAG (survey preparation) and Health Management Associates (to complete the application) are on site doing audits, rounding and document review to prepare for the state licensing and CMS recertification surveys. He said CMS linked the submitted plan to additional reimbursement payments — initially an additional four months of payment with a possible two‑month extension — and that these funds were necessary to continue funding while the organization addresses required changes.

Commissioners asked about family outreach, bed availability and the timeline for assessments; Phillips said the hospital will keep the Commission updated and that staff will take responsibility for placement calls rather than asking families to search for openings. The Commission requested frequent rolling updates as the assessment and placement process proceeds.