A Stark County judge on Tuesday ordered the immediate closure of a Canton nursing home after Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost argued that residents were being placed in imminent danger due to mismanagement.
Yost’s office said the House of Loreto, 2812 Harvard Ave., is failing to provide basic medical care and properly manage medications, citing a Jan. 2 inspection report from the Ohio Department of Health (ODH). The nursing home has 29 residents; 12 were deemed at high risk and six had already suffered harm, according to the attorney general.
The ODH report detailed widespread lapses, including poor monitoring of blood-thinning drugs, unaddressed kidney complications that led to hospitalizations, and infections tied to inadequate wound care. Inspectors also reported incomplete documentation of medications, lax control of narcotics, a lack of backup drugs, and no infection-prevention specialist on staff. The home additionally failed to take adequate measures to prevent residents with dementia from wandering away, the report said.
Although the facility submitted a corrective plan within a week of the inspection, state officials found it insufficient.
ODH also identified systemic leadership and staffing issues. The home changed owners in March 2025 but never appointed a governing board, and inspectors noted persistent understaffing.
“These residents deserve safe, competent care,” Yost said in a statement, adding that families should not have to worry about neglect when placing loved ones in long-term care.
Yost sought a temporary restraining order to shut the facility down; a Stark County judge granted the request Jan. 13. Under the order, the House of Loreto must stop admitting new residents and work with ODH and an ombudsman from the Ohio Department of Aging to relocate current residents to other area facilities with available space.
A full evidentiary hearing on ODH’s findings is scheduled for Jan. 21 and could result in a preliminary injunction continuing the closure.
