FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 7, 2024

ST. LOUIS – Lenny Jones, SEIU Healthcare Missouri State Director, released the following statement regarding the Illinois Attorney General taking direct action against Mark Suissa, former owner of the now-closed Northview Village Nursing Home:

“We are pleased to see some semblance of accountability for Mark Suissa as a result of his actions against his former employees. However, workers who were employed at Northview Village before its abrupt and negligent closure are still dealing with the repercussions of that life-altering event. We demand Missouri prosecutors follow the Illinois Attorney General’s lead and bring legal action against Suissa and his cohort of investors at the source of Northview’s sudden closure.

“On Friday, December 15th, the facility abruptly shut down, resulting in the immediate termination of all 184 employees, without pay for hours already worked, and lack of severance. Shortly after, transport vans from area nursing homes arrived and relocated residents. By 6:00 am on the following Saturday, 175 residents had been moved to other facilities in the St. Louis area, without their possessions or notification to their family members. On Tuesday, December 19th, the morning of an SEIU rally for justice and accountability, workers who rallied with us noticed that their former residents were lying out by bus stops, unsheltered from the cold.

“We have done all we can to support workers since Northview’s closure last year. Now, we are calling on Missouri prosecutors to take action against Suissa on behalf of the affected workers, residents, and community he destabilized by closing Northview.”

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