Assisted living facility loses license

The operator of the two Autumn Haven assisted living facilities in Hayden has been notified by the state of Idaho that its operating license has been revoked.

A bank is foreclosing on the properties and taking them over in March, said Idaho Department of Health and Welfare spokesman Tom Shanahan.

The properties will be auctioned off by the bank, he said.

Twenty residents had been living at the facility when the bank began foreclosure action. About half have already moved out.

The bank contacted the state in December to notify officials of the foreclosure.

Shanahan said an official from the department visited the facilities last week, and determined all residents currently living there have at least one option for alternative housing.

"Many are probably in the process of moving out," Shanahan said.

The Autumn Haven facilities in Hayden are located at 264 W. Hilgren Ave., and 9886 N. Reed Road.

Autumn Haven is registered with the Idaho Secretary of State under the name Autumn Assisted Living Corp.

The owner and registered agents include James E. Everett, of Los Angeles, and Don and Kathy Murrell, of Coeur d'Alene. A message left with Kathy Murrell was not returned. Someone who answered the phone at one of the facilities declined comment.

Kurt Neely, one of the owners of Wellspring Meadows Assisted Living in Hayden, said he's interested in acquiring the Autumn Haven facilities.

"We had hoped to acquire it with the residents in place," Neely said.

Whoever buys the Autumn Haven facilities at the auction will get them at a favorable price, because of the foreclosure.

The low price would allow Neely to offer beds at Autumn Haven to Medicaid recipients, he said.

"There's a great shortage of Medicaid beds" in North Idaho, he said. "It's only going to get worse."

He said he gets calls frequently from people looking for a bed at an assisted living facility, but who are dependent on Medicaid to pay their expenses. He has to turn them away, because space available for those clients is so limited.

"We have six Medicaid beds, but that's as a service to the community," he said. "There is a great need and you can't just turn a blind eye to it."

He said Medicaid-dependent residents pay only a fraction of what private-pay residents and their families pay.