State officials say: Stop Cimarron Memorial’s Nursing Home Exodus

by C.F. David

Dave Peyok, at least for now, Cimarron Memorial’s full-time CEO, returned from meeting with state officials about de-licensing the nursing home.

Peyok said that officials with the Oklahoma Health Authority were looking at other options than delicensure.

“They think since we are a county-owned facility there might be other funding mechanics available,” Peyok said.

“They also said it would help if people didn’t leave,” he added.

“This is a good thing, as long as we are still licensed, people can be readmitted because it seems they are going to do something to help us,” Peyok explained.

Peyok added that even with the nursing home still in business and attached to the acute-care hospital that if the nursing home could just break even then perhaps the entire facility would be able to maintain its cash flow and stay viable.

He added that according to the health authority officials they were also working on a plan to help fund smaller long-term facilities, (15- beds), but that this option was a few years down the road.

Peyok said that the option to delicense will be kept intact until July 14 just in case nothing comes through from the state of Oklahoma.

“They urged us [residents from the home] not to leave . That seems a good sign they are going to do something to help us,” Peyok said.

Peyok is now living in Boise City, a single parent with two children, having just moved from Bastrop, Texas where he’d been since last November.

“I didn’t want to move to Houston,” he explained.

Peyok had been working as a CEO at Bastrop’s Lake Shore Hospital, and had arrived there as a member of a hospital management group, Rockwall Hospitals Inc., out of Richardson, Texas.

Peyok said that RHI had attempted to purchase the hospital and when that fell through, the hospital and RHI parted company, and RHI has since sued the hospital for back payments of about $350 million.

Asked if he was no longer employed by RHI how he thought Cimarron Memorial could pay him.

“The cost of living isn’t very high here, and I have savings,” he said.

“My goal here is to keep a management company from taking over the hospital.”

Asked about a possible CFO, Peyok replied, “that’s why I came up here now. We need to prepare a cost report before June or the Medicare payments will stop, then that stops Medicaid.”

“That, (a cost report), is a hospital’s version of a tax return; but there are no extensions”, Peyok explained.

Peyok added that Kareen Jannsan was expected to return to help him with the report.

Asked about the back tax problems, Peyok said they have contacted the IRS and begun payments.

“They’ll work with us as long as we show good faith and we’ve done that,” he said.