Athena Health Care Systems owns Highview of Northampton .st1{fill-rule:evenodd;clip-rule:evenodd;fill:#2a2a2a}By Greta Jochem | gjochem@repub.comNORTHAMPTON — As Highview of Northampton moves to close by early February resident Danica Ali asked the Department of Public Health to delay the end date to July Some residents want to transition into housing instead of another nursing home and want more time to find a place to live she told the state at a virtual public hearing Wednesday night “There’s not enough time to do so,” she said Ali told The Republican she has a Section 8 voucher and is trying to find an accessible apartment Early last month, Highview filed a petition to close with the state saying it plans to shut down by early February has cited financial pressures and the high cost of fixing the building’s heating system as well as difficulty recruiting staff as reasons to shut down The closing also comes as unpaid bills to the city pile up and after a recent investigation into sexual abuse of multiple residents by a staff member the state DPH will either approve the facility’s closure plan or provide comments on it The 120-bed facility had about 80 residents when it announced the closure last month The facility, the subject of a series published by The Republican in July, was one of the most fined nursing homes in Massachusetts by the federal government in the past few years and it ranked by the state in its overall performance in the bottom 1% The company has “several years of outstanding bills” due to the city Northampton Finance Director Charlene Nardi said at the hearing it owes the city more than $230,000 in unpaid real estate taxes and water and sewer fees citing $62,000 in unpaid taxes from fiscal year 2023 according to records filed with the Hampshire Registry of Deeds The land is owned by “Leeds Landlord MA LLC,” an entity state records show is managed by Lawrence G president and CEO of Athena Health Care Systems and the majority owner of Highview of Northampton The closing is “super unfortunate,” said City Commissioner of Health and Human Services Merridith O’Leary “Facilities like these are few and far between.” “It’s a sad reality it will close,” said state Sen She urged Athena to work with the city to avoid the property becoming abandoned O’Leary asked for Athena to communicate with the city When nursing homes in Western Massachusetts have closed, patients have been transferred to facilities in other parts of the state, as far as 100 miles, said Paul Lanzikos, co-founder of the Dignity Alliance Massachusetts “We are very concerned about the transfer of patients,” Lanzikos said Residents should be transferred to facilities in the area when possible Moving patients long distances has caused “enormous stress,” she said they are required to find another facility for residents that meets their needs and must take into account input from patients and their family according to a spokesperson for the state DPH One woman who has lived at Highview for two years while recovering from paralysis is moving back home to Springfield who did not want to use her name to protect her privacy The woman said she feels for the facility’s workers — many of whom are like family to her — over losing their jobs Santilli said employees will be given priority status if they apply to jobs at other Athena facilities Its closest locations are a hospice in Springfield and a rehabilitation and skilled care center in Sandisfield The facility is confident it can transfer residents to other facilities Athena’s regional director of operations for Massachusetts It’s difficult to recruit and retain staff and the facility has operated at a financial loss for years It’s a “universally challenging time in the health care industry,” he said Not discussed at the hearing was a report recently made public by the U.S Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services that says five residents reported they had been sexually abused by a Highview staff member Some reported that abuse happened multiple times An internal investigation by the facility substantiated the allegations and terminated the employee at the end of July The man worked at the facility for more than a year The facility reported the allegations to health officials and police were involved The government report notes that police conducted interviews at the facility A message left with the Northampton Police Department seeking comment on the matter was not immediately returned The health investigators concluded the facility failed to protect residents from abuse residents said the CNA digitally penetrated them the man reportedly exposed himself to a resident One resident said they had been inappropriately touched by the CNA multiple times and had not reported it because they feared retaliation “The residents said they did not report the incidents to staff right away due to embarrassment and humiliation,” the government report says “and during their interviews they became emotional visibly upset and disturbed by having to talk about and relive the trauma of their individual incidents.” Ragali said she can’t comment on the allegations “While we cannot comment on specific resident care or employee issues training and reporting protocols in place to assure that resident care meets our high standards,” she wrote in a statement Athena takes “immediate steps” to address reported abuse,” she said “This includes notifying law enforcement and public health officials suspending or terminating the involved employee and communicating with all staff to reinforce training on identifying and addressing potential concerns about resident care.” Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, (updated 8/1/2024) and acknowledgement of our Privacy Policy, and Your Privacy Choices and Rights (updated 1/1/2025) © 2025 Advance Local Media LLC. All rights reserved (About Us) The material on this site may not be reproduced except with the prior written permission of Advance Local Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site YouTube's privacy policy is available here and YouTube's terms of service is available here Ad Choices Highview Power has revealed its second planned long-duration energy storage (LDES) project using its liquid air energy storage (LAES) technology The company is developing a 2.5GWh project The first step is to build the grid connection and infrastructure for grid stability services for which planning permission has been secured while the full LAES system buildout still requires planning permission which the company will now work towards securing welcomed Highview Power Executives to Scotland House in London yesterday (14 October) as part of the announcement “The creation of the largest liquid air energy facility in the world demonstrates just how valuable Scotland is in delivering a low carbon future as well as supporting the global transition to net zero,” Swinney said The announcement comes just a few days after the UK government confirmed it will launch a cap-and-floor mechanism for LDES projects following a period of public consultation Though Highview did not mention the cap and floor in its announcement many see large-scale LDES projects as commercially unworkable without such a support scheme Hunterston is the first project in Highview’s second phase of project development. The first is a project in Manchester, eight times smaller at 300MWh, for which the company secured £300 million (US$392 million) to build in July Its second phase comprises four projects totalling 4GWh “This project will be transformational for Scotland in providing critical storage for offshore wind and solving grid constraints as well as delivering majorinvestment in Ayrshire See a video demonstration of the company’s LAES technology below Project: Claw Zone Description: Claw Zone owner Jack Zheng said construction is currently underway on a claw machine arcade in Louisville's Highview neighborhood The space will feature more than 80 claw machines imported from Japan and offer a variety of skill-based challenges for customers Popcorn and cotton candy will also be available via automated vending machines already highly popular in many Asian countries and Zheng wanted to bring a similar experience to Louisville "My end goal here is to open up a few of them throughout Louisville Southern Indiana and maybe even Lexington," he said I just want something different in Louisville something that is popular elsewhere that nobody else is willing to come into Louisville to do." The Louisville native owns two furniture businesses in the area and said he wants to bring the "big city feel" back to the city While an opening date is yet to be determined Zheng said he hopes to open sometime this spring LLC is the hired contractor for the electrical work The shopping center's landlord completed the flooring and other construction work has secured a £300 million investment to develop the first large-scale liquid air energy storage (LAES) plant in the UK Orrick advised private equity firm Mosaic Capital on the funding round which international energy and services company Centrica and the UK Infrastructure Bank (UKIB) led The investment will enable construction of one of the world’s largest plants using liquid air energy storage with the goal of the plant beginning operation in 2026 the plant will have a storage capacity of 300 MWh and an output power of 50 MW an hour for six hours Highview Power's programme will set the bar for energy storage systems worldwide positioning the UK as a global leader in energy storage and flexibility “There is no energy transition without storage The UK’s investment in world-leading offshore wind and renewables requires a national long-duration energy storage programme to capture excess wind and support the grid’s transformation “UKIB and Centrica and our partners have today backed our ambitious plan to bring renewable energy storage into the UK economy at scale liberating the potential of what is both the greenest and by far the cheapest energy source for the UK economy and provide energy security.” Highview Power aims to accelerate the deployment of its larger facilities across the UK by 2035 This aligns with one of National Grid's target scenario forecasts of  a need for 2 GW from liquid air energy storage which would account for nearly 20% of the UK's long-duration energy storage requirements Shawn Atkinson led the Orrick team that advised Mosaic Capital with assistance from Rachel Leigh, Jonathan Rosen, Mae Morter and George Alexander Solar Power Portal Mosaic Capital Highview Power news release Orrick Energy Storage Update 2024 Read More Orrick Client Results Shawn's incomparable market insight stems from his leadership roles at Orrick the only global firm focused on technology and his experience working throughout the UK & Europe, North America and Asia Shawn leads Orrick's London Corporate practice its Global Emerging Markets practice and co-leads the Global Fintech team and the Global Technology Companies Practice Group These complement his practice serving public and private companies in UK multi-jurisdictional and complex corporate transactions including countless acquisitions and disposals He is also a recognised leader in late stage venture transactions and in early stage private equity transactions in Europe and the emerging markets. Shawn has been recognised as a leading individual in several legal directories for his expertise and excellence in venture capital he has been ranked as a top 5 (by volume) UK M&A lawyer in each of 2017 Shawn also advises early stage businesses across a number of sectors – including insurtech He assists them from incorporation through to M&A exit initial public offerings and other growth opportunities His participation in the private equity and venture capital sector spans his entire career - with time spent in private practice in-house and advising investors as well as investor-backed businesses-and affords him a deep knowledge and understanding of the industry and client needs and expectations Among the leading investment funds he has represented are ABN Amro Ventures Rachel acts for early-stage and high-growth companies primarily in the technology sector secret or otherwise sensitive information concerning any potential or actual legal matter in this e-mail message Unsolicited e-mails do not create an attorney-client relationship and confidential or secret information included in such e-mails cannot be protected from disclosure Orrick does not have a duty or a legal obligation to keep confidential any information that you provide to us please note that our attorneys do not seek to practice law in any jurisdiction in which they are not properly authorized to do so you understand and agree that Orrick will have no duty to keep confidential any information you provide One person was killed over the weekend in a house fire in Irondequoit Firefighters from four Irondequoit fire departments were called to a home on Highview Drive around 5:10 a.m where they battled the blaze and found "a deceased individual" inside the home Irondequoit Fire District Chief Shane Metcalfe said in a news release The identity of the person found within the split-level home was not immediately released "Our thoughts are with the family and community affected by this tragic incident," Metcalfe said firefighters believe that the blaze had been burning for several hours before the pre-dawn 911 call that summoned emergency responders to the scene The cause of the fire remains under investigation by the Monroe County Fire Bureau Irondequoit police and the Monroe County Medical Examiner's Office are also "actively working to investigate the incident," Metcalfe said Further details are expected to be released once the ME's Office releases the identity of the person who died Highview Drive is a residential road just southeast of Norton Street and Helendale Road Global law firm White & Case LLP has advised Highview Power a long-duration energy storage pioneer with proprietary cryogenic energy storage technology on a £300 million combined debt and equity investment for the first in its pipeline of commercial-scale liquid air energy storage (LAES) plants in the UK Co-Founder & CEO of Highview Power said: “We are delighted to have the support of the White & Case team in bringing about this strategic investment partnership Our first project in Carrington will be the foundation for our full-scale roll-out in the UK and expansion with partners to share this British technology internationally.” “We have supported Highview Power on this landmark energy transition project,” said White & Case partner Kamran Ahmad who led the Firm’s deal team “It is brilliant to see LAES technology developed in the UK almost 20 years ago deployed It promises to revolutionize energy systems by offering generators and grid operators long duration storage capacity.” The £300 million debt and equity funding round was led by the UK Infrastructure Bank (UKIB) and Centrica alongside an equity syndicate of existing and new investors including Sumitomo Heavy Industries The investment will enable construction of one of the world’s largest LAES plants in Carrington the plant will have a storage capacity of 300 MWh and an output power of 50 MW per hour for six hours Given the potential of LAES to reduce curtailment costs across the sector Highview Power intends to accelerate the roll-out of larger scale 2.5 GWh facilities with an anticipated investment of £3 billion The White & Case team in London which advised on the transaction was led by partner Kamran Ahmad and included partners Jonah Anderson counsel Lis Blunsdon and associates Jonathan Toffolo Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome – One person has died following an overnight fire in Irondequoit Firefighters responded to Highview Drive just after 5:00 Sunday morning for the report of a house fire crews worked to control the flames while at the same time searching for potential victims within the structure according to the Irondequoit Fire District firefighters found one person inside the home who was deceased Authorities are not releasing the identity of the deceased victim at this time The cause of the fire is under investigation died in 2017 when she was staying at Highview of Northampton (Image courtesy of Sean Hanley)Courtesy of Sean Hanley .st1{fill-rule:evenodd;clip-rule:evenodd;fill:#2a2a2a}By Greta Jochem | gjochem@repub.comNORTHAMPTON — Triona Hanley was admitted to Highview of Northampton in early 2017 for rehabilitation therapy after being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis but it wasn’t administered to her one day in early June 2017 despite Hanley rating her pain as an 8 out of 10 according to a lawsuit filed by her estate in 2020 in Hampshire Superior Court a nurse noted Hanley was asleep in her chair When staff next checked in on her at 8:45 a.m she was in the same chair but unresponsive — her lips blue and body cold was declared dead at Cooley Dickinson Hospital her cause of death was listed as “acute sudden death in a person with multiple sclerosis in the setting of methadone intoxication,” according to the wrongful death complaint The manner of death is listed as undetermined “This could have and should have been prevented,” said Rebecca Thomas an attorney who is representing Hanley’s estate The lawsuit claims Highview and several of its employees were negligent in her death “The people who go into these facilities are vulnerable,” Thomas said “They are there to be protected and cared for and kept safe Hanley had seen a neurologist the day before her death who said that “her death was completely unexpected and unforeseen,” the complaint says She didn’t have a history of using narcotic drugs without a prescription nor did she have suicidal ideations or depression Highview denies its actions caused Hanley’s death declined to comment on the case to The Republican The attorney listed for Athena in the court filings did not respond to a request to comment No criminal charges filed related to Hanley’s death a spokesperson for the Northwestern District Attorney’s Office said the office declined to confirm or deny whether an investigation was conducted The office has audio recordings of interviews police reports and “crime scene and lab reports,” a response to a records request says but the office declined to release them saying doing so could impact the pending civil lawsuit It also cited exemptions to the state public records law including one that makes medical records private It’s not clear how Hanley obtained the methadone The legal complaint cites September 2017 Department of Public Health documents from an unannounced survey that say narcotics were not securely stored and a stockpile of methadone was found in one resident’s room A DPH spokesperson confirmed that a staff person went to the facility in September 2017 for a survey and flagged two violations of federal rules — including that services didn’t meet professional standards — that were corrected six weeks later Thomas thinks it’s more likely Hanley received the wrong medication But even if she had gotten the methadone from another resident the facility needs to provide proper supervision Sean Hanley said he misses everything about his sister Triona She had long lived in Massachusetts and worked in sales and marketing she didn’t complain about the facility to Sean when they talked “She was more focused on her recovery and her future,” he said Sean Hanley wants to see the facility held accountable and to prevent other families from going through what his family did “This facility should be shut down permanently Parties agreed to dismiss claims against a doctor that were originally part of the suit a medical malpractice tribunal — a panel used in such cases — determined there’s enough possible evidence for the case to continue The case is scheduled to go to trial in 2025 Golden Valley police were dispatched to a call at Robbinsdale Academy Highview on a report of two juvenile students fighting in a bathroom with one of the teenagers using brass knuckles Golden Valley Police Chief Virgil Green told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS that possession of brass knuckles in a school is a felony in Minnesota Green said Assistant Principal Patrick Burrage did not take the situation seriously with his officers on the scene We let them know that this is a felony,” said Green.  Green said Burrage did not inform officers that the brass knuckles were in the school police got a search warrant for the school and that’s when the brass knuckles were discovered in the desk drawer of Assistant Principal Burrage “Opens up his desk and pulls out the brass knuckles and says these were in my desk.’ They were in some kind of paper towel Green said Golden Valley police asked the city attorney to charge Burrage with misdemeanor obstruction As for the student with the brass knuckles Green said his office recommended felony assault charges to the county attorney sustained a concussion and received stitches after the fight Any person with disabilities who needs help accessing the content of the FCC Public File may contact KSTP via our online form or call 651-646-5555 The liquid air energy storage plant at Hunterston is set to deliver a substantial increase in storage capacity Highview Power has announced plans to develop a long-duration energy storage (LDES) project in Ayrshire with a capacity of 2.5 gigawatt hours (GWh) The project will be built at Peel Ports’ property at Hunterston North Ayrshire and will provide five times the existing battery storage capacity of Scotland It is supported by the Scottish government and its strategic location optimises the use of renewable electricity produced in the country Highview Power has already secured the development rights for the construction of the Hunterston LDES project The construction of the plant will occur in two stages The initial phase will focus on establishing the grid connection and infrastructure necessary for providing grid stability services The second phase will involve the complete build-out of the liquid air energy storage (LAES) facility with the planning process for this stage now underway Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis The development of the Hunterston project will create 1,000 jobs on-site during the construction phase and an additional 650 jobs within the supply chain The project will be capable of supplying power to 650,000 homes for 12.5 hours The Hunterston project marks the launch of Highview Power’s second phase of the LDES development programme which comprises four projects across Scotland and Northern England aims to support the integration of renewable energy from the North Sea and address the crucial need for grid stability in the region Highview Power chief executive Richard Butland stated: “We were delighted to meet the First Minister today and thrilled to announce our next project in Hunterston which kick starts our multi-billion-pound LDES programme across the UK to unlock 10GWh of LDES “This project will be transformational for Scotland in providing critical storage for offshore wind and solving grid constraints as well as delivering major investment in Ayrshire In June 2024, Highview Power secured £300m (($383m) for its first commercial-scale liquid air energy storage (LAES) plant in Carrington Give your business an edge with our leading industry insights View all newsletters from across the GlobalData Media network Stay at the forefront of the industrial gas industry with a gasworld subscription and get access to: Cryogenic technology solutions company INOX India Ltd (INOXCVA) has secured a contract from Highview Power for its upcoming Liquid Air Energy Storage (LAES) facility at Carrington The project will see INOXCVA supply five high-pressure marking the company’s first foray into liquid air energy storage and featuring the largest shop-fabricated cryogenic tanks produced by the firm to date Promoter and Non-Executive Director at INOX India Ltd “We are thrilled to partner with Highview Power on this ground-breaking renewable energy project.” to continue reading you must be subscribed At a time when the world is forced to go digital more than ever before just to stay connected discover the in-depth content our subscribers receive every month by subscribing to gasworld 2025 at 12:28 pm CT.css-79elbk{position:relative;}Wilson A who lives in the 400 block of North Highview Avenue in Elmhurst was charged with aggravated arson and residential arson IL – An Elmhurst man was arrested over the weekend after he set clothing on fire Elmhurst firefighters put out the fire about 2:30 a.m Saturday in the 400 block of North Highview Avenue who lives in the 400 block of North Highview Avenue police reported responding to a domestic disturbance in the same block Both people agreed to stay away from each other for the rest of the night It was unclear whether the incidents were connected Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. 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The city of Walker has approved plans for the first 45 units of a rental townhome community that’s expected to be built in two phases over the next several years The Walker Planning Commission on Wednesday evening unanimously approved the final area site plan for phase one of developer Brandon Visser’s 115-unit Highview Townhomes market-rate project that’s planned at 1500 Wilson Ave The approval allows the developer to line up permits and start site work The first of the two phases will have 45 units on about 7.5 acres of the overall 27-acre development site which is at the northeast corner of Leonard Street NW and Wilson Avenue NW which would need further planning commission approval is expected to have an additional 70 units Visser is a third-generation real estate developer His grandfather Dale Visser co-founded Visser Brothers Construction in Grand Rapids with brother Bruce Visser founded Plainfield Township-based Steve Visser Builder LLC in the 1980s to specialize in residential construction Keep up with all things West Michigan business. Sign up for our free newsletters today will manage construction of Highview Townhomes through his own firm Visser told Crain’s Grand Rapids Business on Tuesday that his family has owned the Walker property for nearly two decades and has been working on housing development plans for about 10 years “We’ve really tried to find something that is long term and (serves) a long-term need in the area and not just something that somebody mass produces just to have another multifamily project,” he said Walker rezoned the Vissers’ property to residential planned unit development (RPUD-2) in fall 2022 as part of a larger commercial PUD that was to include a Kum & Go gas station and a convenience store Maverik acquired Kum & Go and delayed the gas station project The gas station developer originally planned to handle construction of a private access road and utilities that Highview Townhomes would also share To move forward more quickly with the housing component Visser has agreed to take on those infrastructure projects with financial support from Maverik Planning Commissioner Patrick Nolan said during the meeting that he supports the townhomes project “My only real concern was the Maverik site … and traffic in and around that area and access but it seems like when it comes to fruition (the developer) will address those concerns.” Gaines Township-based Architectural Concepts is the architect for Highview Townhomes The first phase of the project will have 46 units one of which will be a showroom/leasing office spread across nine four- and six-unit buildings Ten of the units would be all on one level with the living areas on the main floor and bedrooms upstairs The units all would have two bathrooms and either two or three bedrooms and range from about 1,200 to 1,400 square feet Plans also call for attached garages for all the dwellings the development would offer 179 parking spaces Shared amenities at the pet-friendly development include a recreational lawn area and playground The second phase may include additional amenities such as a bocce ball area “(Our focus is on) preserving trees and having something that’s more natural looking,” rather than a lot of built-out amenities He said rent ranges for the units have not yet been determined Visser said he does not yet have an estimate of when construction will start as it depends on how long it takes to secure permits But he expects each phase of the project to take one to two years Wyoming OKs plan for $105M automotive battery components plant at Site 36 Michigan job growth will slow ‘substantially’ but positive signs remain, UM economists say Muskegon County aims to revive airport with $23M upgrades, new airline Staying current is easy with Crain's Grand Rapids Business news delivered straight to your inbox Click below to see everything we have to offer Liquid air energy storage firm Highview Power has raised £300 million (US$384 million) from the UK Infrastructure Bank (UKIB) and utility Centrica to immediately start building its first large-scale project The funding will enable Highview to launch construction on a 50MW/300MWh long-duration energy storage (LDES) project in Carrington using its proprietary liquid air energy storage (LAES) technology Construction will start immediately for an early 2026 commercial operation The funding round was led by the state-owned UKIB and utility Centrica with participation from mining firm Rio Tinto private equity firm Mosaic Capital and KIRKBI the family office of the Lego-founding Kristiansen family UKIB mobilises private finance to help first-of-a-kind technologies to reach commercial scale whilst driving local economic growth has come on board as Highview Power’s strategic partner and contributed £70 million of the £300 million Highview will also now start planning its next four larger scale facilities totalling 2.5GWh requiring £3 billion of investment in line with the UK’s support mechanisms and forecasted required deployments of LDES The support mechanism for LDES currently being discussed is a cap and floor mechanism for projects of a minimum size and duration – 300MWh and six hours – that exactly matches Highview’s suggesting the project has been built with an eye on bidding for support via the scheme Highview said its technology can store renewable energy for up to several weeks indicating its duration could go beyond several hours The UK already has a substantial fleet of over 4GW/4GWh of short-duration 1-hour and 2-hour lithium-ion BESS projects online which are primarily providing ancillary services and some grid balancing and energy trading activities But many in the industry suggest that as renewable generation grows the gigawatt hours of capacity will need to grow far beyond what is financially cost-effective with just lithium-ion BESS UKIB also recently invested £25 million into another LDES company, vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB) firm Invinity Energy Systems for it to expand manufacturing and start directly investing in projects using its tech (Greta Jochem/The Springfield Republican).Greta Jochem/The Springfield Republican .st1{fill-rule:evenodd;clip-rule:evenodd;fill:#2a2a2a}By Greta Jochem | gjochem@repub.comNORTHAMPTON — Leonard Wright was not surprised to learn the beleaguered nursing home he’s lived in for several years “I saw the writing on the walls,” Wright said The nursing home notified staff and residents this week it will close by early next year said it submitted a 120-day notice and petition to close to the state Department of Public Health Highview plans to shut down once residents are transferred to other facilities Wait times for help at the facility are long and the building is chronically understaffed president and CEO of Athena Health Care Systems announced the closing in a Monday letter to employees “This is a very challenging time for everyone in the health care industry and together we have been working hard to address patient demand increased costs and limited reimbursement,” he wrote The facility’s location in the city’s Leeds section made recruiting employees difficult Staff members who stay through the closure process can get an extra two weeks of pay Athena Health Care Systems runs nursing homes in Massachusetts the company sold five facilities in Connecticut No other locations in Massachusetts will close The petition to close Highview was filed with the state Monday “The resources did not exist to make some critical updates to the building particularly its heating and cooling system,” she wrote Santilli told employees those systems needed to be replaced “While we explored every possible option,” Ragali wrote “we simply could not find a way to operate the building and its programs sustainably going forward.” residents complained to the city health department that the building had no heat or hot water A temporary boiler was installed and space heaters placed in hallways The building is owned by “Leeds Landlord MA LLC,” an entity that Santilli manages according to corporate filings with the state who goes into the facility regularly for her job She did not want to use her last name to protect her employment “[I am] very happy the residents will be moved to a better place but sad to see the residents leave,” she wrote in a message to The Republican Government agencies have flagged a slew of issues at Highview in recent years The company signed an $1.75 million agreement with the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office in 2022 after a state investigation alleged Athena provided poor care for people with substance use disorder at multiple facilities In 2019, Athena settled complaints with the U.S Attorney’s Office alleging it violated the Americans with Disabilities Act by denying admission to those who took buprenorphine a medication use to treat opioid use disorder Across its Massachusetts locations, the company has also faced a number of lawsuits for unpaid bills like more than $1 million in unpaid lab tests at UMass Memorial-Harrington Hospital and $500,000 in overdue payments to National Grid A wrongful death lawsuit filed by the estate of a former Highview resident is pending Department of Labor has an open investigation into Athena Health Care Systems but could not provide details on that probe Staffing has been a problem. According to the most recent federal data, residents receive on average 15 minutes of time each day with a registered nurse, half the time that the state Department of Public Health requires After a nursing home notifies DPH it intends to shut down it must submit a closure plan for approval and hold a public hearing at least 90 days before the planned last day of operation “Owners of the facility should engage with those who are impacted to explore alternatives to closure and further development of a closure plan,” the DPH website reads Ohio — Middletown City Schools pitched their plans for restructuring the district's elementary schools potentially moving more than 500 kids to a different school in the 2025/2026 school year at a meeting Wednesday evening The district decided to move sixth graders out of the centralized Highview 6th Grade Center to neighborhood schools but that presented capacity issues at schools like Mayfield Elementary where A consultant hired by the district to present redistricting options, Woolpert, brought four options to the public at Wednesday's meeting Families like the Watsons came to share their thoughts with the hope Deana Watson could continue working at the Middle School and Harmony could continue attending Amanda Elementary School "Middletown has a bad rap about everybody saying it's bad but it's actually a really good community," Randy Watson said and I think what they're doing is moving in a good Middletown Teachers Association President Cora Thompson said her priority has been protecting staff through the redistricting process "I wouldn't want to be the board that has to make the final decision," Thompson said She said there has been consistent communication between district officials as they've approached a final plan but hesitated to call it "smooth sailing." it has been respectful and collaborative in some ways Superintendent Deborah Houser said the changes were a long time in the making with a laundry list of factors playing into the four final proposals like busing Houser said moving sixth graders out of a central location was the driving factor behind the redistricting "Neighborhood schools have always been the most important to our families," she said Central Academy will move into the current Highview building and Central Academy's building will house the district's early learning center Houser said the district would undergo another round of community feedback and analysis following Wednesday's meeting She said the school board would need to decide in either late January or early February to allow for implementation in the 2025/2026 school year File)Greta Jochem/The Springfield Republican .st1{fill-rule:evenodd;clip-rule:evenodd;fill:#2a2a2a}By Greta Jochem | gjochem@repub.comNORTHAMPTON — The state Department of Public Health recently approved a closure plan that Highview of Northampton submitted to voluntarily close by early February The state held a virtual public hearing on the proposed closure last month and reviewed the facility’s plan before issuing its approval in late November said in October it planned to close Highview “This decision was not made easily and was regrettably reached only after considering every possible option,” a recent company statement said It said the facility had been operating at a loss and struggled to recruit and retain staff The company also cited the high cost of fixing the building’s heating system as a reason to shut down Residents complained to the city in the spring that the heat was not working The Department of Public Health’s Division of Health Care Facility Licensure and Certification wrote to Athena on Nov saying that it OK’d the plan to close by Feb Patients are being transferred to other facilities The 120-bed facility had 80 residents when it announced it planned to close It has sold a number of facilities in Connecticut this year Highview, the subject of a series published by The Republican in July, was deemed one of the most fined nursing homes in Massachusetts by the federal government in the past few years, and it ranked by the state in its overall performance in the bottom 1% Government agencies have flagged problems at the facility such as a state investigation that alleged it provided poor care to those with substance use disorder That was resolved with a $1.75 million agreement in 2022 The closure also comes as Highview is beset with several years of unpaid city taxes it owed more than $230,000 in real estate taxes The region has been grappling with nursing home closures in recent years four facilities in Hampden County closed: Chapin Center in Springfield Governor’s Center in Westfield and Willimansett Center East and West Northeast Health Group Inc., which ran all four, said that a new state regulation requiring no more than two people per bedroom was too much of a financial squeeze for the facilities. The closure displaced about 300 people. Families said at the time that they struggled to find placements for their loved ones nearby That’s a concern for advocates watching as Highview closes. When other facilities have shut down, patients have been moved to places as far as 100 miles away, said Paul Lanzikos, co-founder of the Dignity Alliance Massachusetts There were several hundred open nursing home beds within a 30-minute drive of Northampton in October, the most recent data published by the Department of Public Health UK scaleup Highview Power has secured £300mn to build a liquid air storage plant in Manchester The UK government’s Infrastructure Bank led the funding round The investment acts as a stamp of approval for an emerging technology that could help wean the country off dirty sources of baseload power like gas and coal innovative ways to store energy so we have electricity available when the wind doesn’t blow and the sun doesn’t shine,” said Chris O’Shea The latest rumblings from the EU tech scene Highview will locate its new plant in Carrington it will have a storage capacity of 300 MWh That’s enough energy to power around 300,000 homes but gradually — 50 MWs per hour over six hours Highview expects the project to support over 700 jobs Highview appears to have started building the plant back in 2020 We’ve reached out to the company to find out what caused the long delay and we’ll update this article once we get a response It stores renewable energy when it’s plentiful have already built grid-connected demonstrator plants You use excess energy from the grid to compress air cooling it down to temperatures as low as -200°C When you need energy again you decompress the air Liquid air storage can store renewable energy for up to several weeks Highview says its facilities can be built pretty much anywhere and take only a couple of years to construct said the Carrington project will act as a foundation for a “full scale roll-out in the UK.”  The scaleup is already planning four more plants These will be larger than the Carrington facility with a combined energy storage capacity of 2.5 GWh director and chief engineer at Britain’s electricity operator National Grid predicts that 4GW of liquid air storage will be required over the coming decades “Highview’s plans are welcomed to support this target,” he said Highview intends to build even more plants in order to meet 20% of the UK’s energy storage capacity by 2035 This ambitious plan would cost £9bn and would support 6,000 jobs Get the most important tech news in your inbox each week .st1{fill-rule:evenodd;clip-rule:evenodd;fill:#2a2a2a}By The Republican EditorialsNo less an authority than Paul Lanzikos the former state secretary of elder affairs the most-fined nursing home in Western Massachusetts should have been shut down “a long time ago.” Things must be dire to bring such candor. “Notorious,” Lanzikos told The Republican’s Greta Jochem this nursing home’s sick and vulnerable residents continue to be subjected to care inspectors regularly find to be substandard Proof of how badly Athena Health Care Systems is failing residents of Highview, and their friends and families, spills from records kept by the U.S Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Highview is “notorious” because its shortcomings are so well documented as outlined in the in-depth stories by Jochem we published Sunday Inspection reports capture instances of harrowing verbal abuse of residents by Highview staff the 120-bed facility was cited for 76 deficiencies including 15 instances of failing to protect residents from abuse Inspectors found medication errors and cases in which Highview did not provide appropriate treatments told Jochem his urine leaks from a bag due to staff inattention Dana Weber spent time at Highview and was so disappointed in its care he joined a residents’ council He saw residents waiting for bedpan changes and for help washing and dressing The log of 911 calls to Northampton police in the last five years from Highview runs 100 pages Patience wears thin among people who feel neglected and unsafe One Highview certified nursing assistant told an inspector a fearful resident fashioned a three-foot spear tipped with a butter knife Another put a bar of soap in a tube sock to use as a weapon in a confrontation with another resident “The situation was like a riot,” the CNA said A devastating picture emerges as well from comments posted to Indeed.com’s workplace rating site by people who identify themselves as current or former employees A travel nurse reported the lack of supplies and very frustrating.” Another noted heavy staff and manager turnover and inexperience When asked about the most stressful part of working at Highview that employee answered: “Wondering if your relief will come.” A typical day witness to inhumanity,” another worker posted some employees at Highview want to do better The facility is failing its staff as well as residents It isn’t enough for the federal and state governments to identify instances of deficient care and impose fines – but stop there What results is an underclass of subpar care facilities that pay fines ($363,000 in federal penalties over three years at Highview) and then conduct business as usual We think that is the case with Athena Health that has operated 40 nursing homes and hospices in Massachusetts The company’s Highview facility is both notorious and open for business ready to reap public dollars from its many customers on MassHealth Financial penalties are designed to persuade owners of flawed nursing homes to improve care When fines alone do not bring improvements The state must do more to get bad actors in this industry to reform The maximum fine the state Department of Public Health imposes for a single deficiency is a paltry $50 the DPH fined all of the roughly 300 nursing homes just $200 in 2023 while receiving 14,061 complaints and incident reports Public health officials are giving nursing homes an undeserved free pass A legislative proposal would kick the ceiling on individual fines up to $500 a figure still below what’s needed to compel operators to do better the Attorney General’s office went after evidence that five of Athena’s Massachusetts nursing homes failed to report opioid overdoses among residents and accepted more people with substance use disorder than they could treat the company prides itself on caring for people struggling with addiction Athena agreed to pay a $1.75 million settlement; it didn’t have to admit guilt In its wider operations, Athena Health appears to believe it is acceptable to provide whatever level of care it can afford. National Grid went to court to recover $300,000 in unpaid utility bills at Athena’s Southbridge property; the company never filed a response to the lawsuit Athena was found to owe a New Hampshire company $84,000 and a consultant $215,000 Given these troubling signs about Athena Health’s finances we question its ability – and interest – in restoring the reputation the Northampton facility once enjoyed when owned and run by Masonic Health Systems That’s the Charlton company that bought the former county nursing home in 2009 Athena recently unloaded five of its Connecticut nursing homes with the new operator agreeing to pick up $45,000 in local property taxes Athena’s corporate managers had not bothered to pay We asked Athena’s spokesperson if the company intends to find a new manager for any of its 20 Massachusetts properties The company didn’t respond to that question Silence and inaction in health care can be deadly Highview residents deserve to be treated with respect and dignity as they fight to regain their health A man is dead after a Saturday motorcycle crash in Highview After receiving a report of a vehicle collision in the 6000 block of Applegate Lane around 4 p.m. Seventh Division officers found a man injured in the area and began rendering first aid LMPD spokesperson Aaron Ellis said in a prepared statement The man was taken by EMS to the University of Louisville Hospital where he succumbed to his injuries shortly after arrival There were no other injuries reported from the crash A preliminary investigation reveals the man was traveling eastbound on Applegate Lane near Joyce Drive when he lost control of the motorcycle at a bend in the roadway The motorcycle crossed over the westbound lanes and collided with a tree LMPD's Traffic Unit is investigating the crash further More: Gov. Andy Beshear: Kentucky death toll from recent severe weather now at 21 Reach reporter Leo Bertucci at lbertucci@gannett.com or @leober2chee on X