Free Daily Headlines :

  • COVID-19
  • Vaccine Info
  • Money
  • Politics
  • Education
  • Health
  • Justice
  • More
    • Environment
    • Economic Development
    • Gaming
    • Investigations
    • Social Services
    • TRANSPORTATION
  • Opinion
    • CT Viewpoints
    • CT Artpoints
DONATE
Reflecting Connecticut’s Reality.
    COVID-19
    Vaccine Info
    Money
    Politics
    Education
    Health
    Justice
    More
    Environment
    Economic Development
    Gaming
    Investigations
    Social Services
    TRANSPORTATION
    Opinion
    CT Viewpoints
    CT Artpoints

LET�S GET SOCIAL

Show your love for great stories and out standing journalism

State could lose another four nursing homes

  • by Arielle Levin Becker
  • March 17, 2011
  • View as "Clean Read" "Exit Clean Read"

A court-appointed receiver has recommended closing four nursing homes that have been in state receivership since January, arguing in court documents that they face financial barriers to operating and meeting required care standards.

The homes–University Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation in New Haven, Bishops Corner Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation in West Hartford, Soundview Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation in West Haven and Rocky Hill Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation–have 472 licensed beds and employ about 400 people. They were previously part of the troubled Haven Healthcare chain and were sold after Haven declared bankruptcy. Until January, they were managed by Genesis Eldercare Network Services.

The four homes had a net loss of almost $6.5 million in 2009, receiver Phyllis A. Belmonte wrote in a motion filed in Hartford Superior Court earlier this month. The homes, which predominantly care for patients covered by Medicaid, would not be able to generate enough income to cover their operating expenses even if rent, management fees, capital improvements, wage and benefit increases and inflation were not included, she wrote.

The homes could avoid closing if someone agrees to buy them. Industry and union representatives said two or three companies have expressed interest, although it’s not clear how serious it the interest is. A hearing for prospective buyers is scheduled for Friday, and a hearing on the motion to close the homes is scheduled for next Tuesday.

The move to close the homes was filed two months after they went into receivership–a timeframe that some industry experts said is unusually short.

In her motion, Belmonte noted that state law includes time restrictions on the receiver’s work. Within “a reasonable time period”–not more than six months–the receiver must determine whether a facility can continue to operate and provide adequate care to residents, and seek proposals to buy the facilities.

“These time lines are especially critical given the State’s current fiscal crisis,” and the receivership’s reliance on the state Department of Social Services, Belmonte wrote.

The state pays the expenses of receivership.

Deborah Chernoff, spokeswoman for the New England Health Care Employees Union, District 1199, which represents workers at the four homes, said that in the past, the state would run homes in receivership for “quite a long time,” until they could find a buyer. More recently, she said, the window for keeping homes open while searching for a buyer has been getting narrower. She called the two month period between the homes going into receivership and the motion to close them extraordinarily fast.

“I’ve never see it that fast,” she said. “We think it’s way too fast.”

In recommending that the homes be closed, Belmonte wrote that she balanced the potential for transfer trauma for the residents and the facilities’ roles as employers and taxpayers with the cost of receivership when a sale is not realistically possible. She noted that there is competition for residents near the homes, and cited a survey by the Department of Social Services that indicated there are “more than adequate” nursing home beds within a 10-mile radius of each facility.

None of the homes in receivership have operated at full capacity in the past two years; one home had a high of 90 percent of its beds filled, but the others had occupancies in the low- or mid-80s, Belmonte wrote. Each home was cited for code or physical plant problems during inspections in 2010, although Belmonte wrote they are now in substantial regulatory compliance.

While DSS evaluated the availability of nursing homes in each area, Chernoff said the size of the area included does not reflect the challenges a closure could pose to a resident or a resident’s family, particularly those who depend on public transportation. Getting transferred from a nursing home in the city where relatives live to one in the suburbs could make it harder for family to visit, she said.

“Now it’s not a few blocks away or a bus ride away, it’s an expedition to go,” she said.

And that can be a problem for workers who rely on public transportation, said Rep. Patricia A. Dillon, D-New Haven, whose district include one of the homes. “It’s an economic development issue as well,” she said.

Dillon is concerned that New Haven has lost three nursing homes with more than 400 total beds in the past 10 years and now has two more in financial trouble. In addition to the potential closure of the home in receivership, the city’s Jewish Home for the Aged recently filed for bankruptcy.

“I think there’s no question that we’re going through a restructuring and that maybe at some point we had more beds than we needed,” she said. “But it appears that it’s the urban beds that are most disposable and some of the people are in long-term care, some of them are in rehab. People do better if they have access to their loved ones.”

Statewide, 41 nursing homes have closed since 1995, a loss of more than 3,500 beds.

In the past, Chernoff said, workers at nursing homes that closed were able to find new jobs relatively easily. But with no increase in state reimbursement rates since 2007, nursing homes have been laying off workers or cutting back their hours, not hiring, she said. Some union members who worked at Crescent Manor, a Waterbury home that closed in December 2009, still have not found steady work, she said.

“We’re very concerned about the jobs, but also, frankly, these are people’s homes,” Chernoff said. “They may not be the ideal place, but it is the place that they call home.”

When a Haven home in Waterford closed in December 2008, some residents went to another nursing home in Griswold, Chernoff said, only to have that home close in April 2009. “It’s extremely traumatic,” she said.

If the homes close, DSS, the Department of Public Health and the Office of the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman would work together on a discharge and transfer planning process, said Juliet Manalan, press secretary for Gov. Dannel P. Malloy.

In addition, she said, the administration would work with the unions and other nursing homes “to help connect the employees with opportunities in other homes.”

Sign up for CT Mirror's free daily news summary.

Free to Read. Not Free to Produce.

The Connecticut Mirror is a nonprofit newsroom. 90% of our revenue comes from people like you. If you value our reporting please consider making a donation. You'll enjoy reading CT Mirror even more knowing you helped make it happen.

YES, I'LL DONATE TODAY

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Arielle Levin Becker

SEE WHAT READERS SAID

RELATED STORIES
One step Connecticut can take to address our maternal mortality crisis
by Myechia Minter-Jordan, MD

Uncertainty. Fear. Worry. These are just a few of the thoughts and emotions that run through the minds of almost every expecting parent. And for many expecting Black parents, those feelings can be more acute. That’s because for far too many, having a child is a life and death struggle.

Connecticut lawmakers on aid in dying: two decades of delay, deferral, obstruction
by Paul Bluestein, MD

Very soon, members of the Connecticut House and Senate will be voting on HB6425, - the Medical Aid in Dying bill. More than 20 years ago, Oregon implemented its Death with Dignity Act. Since then, Washington, Vermont, California, Montana, Colorado, Maine, Washington DC, Hawaii and most recently New Mexico have passed legislation authorizing medical aid in dying for terminally ill adults. But not Connecticut.

The intersection of race, class and gender in America’s childcare system: The class edition
by Georgia Goldburn

When Michelle Obama declared that she wanted to become “Mom in Chief,” she spoke to a sentiment shared by many women, i.e. the desire to be the primary caregiver of their young children in their early years. Not unexpectedly, Mrs. Obama was derided for making that choice, highlighting how society stands ready to indict women […]

A 71-year-old white woman has a request of the police
by Maggie Goodwin

Please officer, begin to look at every traffic stop and nonviolent police intervention as one where you will meet me, a white-haired 71-year-old retired social worker.

A progressive income tax to re-align Connecticut’s moral compass
by Ezra Kaprov

Redistribution of wealth and property is a fundamental and missing pillar of the hope for multi-racial democracy in the United States.

Support Our Work

Show your love for great stories and outstanding journalism.

$
Select One
  • Monthly
  • Yearly
  • Once
Artpoint painter
CT ViewpointsCT Artpoints
Opinion One step Connecticut can take to address our maternal mortality crisis
by Myechia Minter-Jordan, MD

Uncertainty. Fear. Worry. These are just a few of the thoughts and emotions that run through the minds of almost every expecting parent. And for many expecting Black parents, those feelings can be more acute. That’s because for far too many, having a child is a life and death struggle.

Opinion Connecticut lawmakers on aid in dying: two decades of delay, deferral, obstruction
by Paul Bluestein, MD

Very soon, members of the Connecticut House and Senate will be voting on HB6425, - the Medical Aid in Dying bill. More than 20 years ago, Oregon implemented its Death with Dignity Act. Since then, Washington, Vermont, California, Montana, Colorado, Maine, Washington DC, Hawaii and most recently New Mexico have passed legislation authorizing medical aid in dying for terminally ill adults. But not Connecticut.

Opinion The intersection of race, class and gender in America’s childcare system: The class edition
by Georgia Goldburn

When Michelle Obama declared that she wanted to become “Mom in Chief,” she spoke to a sentiment shared by many women, i.e. the desire to be the primary caregiver of their young children in their early years. Not unexpectedly, Mrs. Obama was derided for making that choice, highlighting how society stands ready to indict women […]

Opinion A progressive income tax to re-align Connecticut’s moral compass
by Ezra Kaprov

Redistribution of wealth and property is a fundamental and missing pillar of the hope for multi-racial democracy in the United States.

Artwork Grand guidance
by Anne:Gogh

In a world of systemic oppression aimed towards those of darker skintones – representation matters. We are more than our equity elusive environments, more than numbers in a prison and much more than victims of societal dispositions. This piece depicts a melanated young man draped in a cape ascending high above multiple forms of oppression. […]

Artwork Shea
by Anthony Valentine

Shea is a story about race and social inequalities that plague America. It is a narrative that prompts the question, “Do you know what it’s like to wake up in new skin?”

Artwork The Declaration of Human Rights
by Andres Chaparro

Through my artwork I strive to create an example of ideas that reflect my desire to raise social consciousness, and cultural awareness. Jazz music is the catalyst to all my work, and plays a major influence in each piece of work.”

Artwork ‘A thing of beauty. Destroy it forever’
by Richard DiCarlo | Derby

During times like these it’s often fun to revisit something familiar and approach things with a different slant. I have been taking some Pop culture and Art masterpieces and applying the vintage 1960’s and 70’s classic figures (Fisher Price, little people) to the make an amusing pieces. Here is my homage to Fisher -Price, Yellow […]

Twitter Feed
A Twitter List by CTMirror

Engage

  • Reflections Tickets & Sponsorships
  • Events
  • Donate
  • Newsletter Sign-Up
  • Submit to Viewpoints
  • Submit to ArtPoints
  • Economic Indicator Dashboard
  • Speaking Engagements
  • Commenting Guidelines
  • Legal Notices
  • Contact Us

About

  • About CT Mirror
  • Announcements
  • Board
  • Staff
  • Sponsors and Funders
  • Donors
  • Friends of CT Mirror
  • History
  • Financial
  • Policies
  • Strategic Plan

Opportunity

  • Advertising and Sponsorship
  • Speaking Engagements
  • Use of Photography
  • Work for Us

Go Deeper

  • Steady Habits Podcast
  • Economic Indicator Dashboard
  • Five Things

The Connecticut News Project, Inc. 1049 Asylum Avenue, Hartford, CT 06105. Phone: 860-218-6380

© Copyright 2021, The Connecticut News Project. All Rights Reserved. Website by Web Publisher PRO