108-year-old nursing home to close in November: Union, lawmakers challenge decision

A nursing home in Amherst, New York, in operation since 1916, is closing its doors after continuing financial problems. But it won’t go away without a fight from those who want to keep it open, perhaps with government help.

The Rose Coplon Residential Center on the Weinberg Campus will close by Nov. 30, which is the date the last resident is discharged, according to the release. statement from CEO Robert Weier on Thursday.

The announcement did not come out of the blue.

On October 16, Weinberg employees made headlines by protesting unpaid wages, waived salaries and the end of health benefits. Company representatives admitted that they have serious financial problems, which will require $15 million to resolve.

And in 2022 long-planned $47 million sale from campus to Western New York, long-term care provider Elderwood has failed. The parties involved attributed the collapse to changes in business priorities caused by the pandemic. The deal has been in the works since 2017.

Given this, some employees are still not ready to leave.

A press release Friday announced that Weinberg employees, resident families and elected officials are planning a protest today. They will urge the state Department of Health to fund ownership transfers to keep the community open, rather than simply oversee its closure as previously announced.

Protest organizers 1199SEIU, the largest health care union in the country, is working closely with affiliated providers to offer support to employees during this time of uncertainty.

“We (the union) have partnered with another provider, Lineage Care Group, an association that Weinberg belongs to,” said Grace Bogdanov, vice president of SEIU’s nursing home division in Western New York. McKnight Long Term Care. “We have really led in Weinberg in the absence of leadership, especially in the last six months.”

Weinberg Campus joined Lineage Care Group in February 2023. The alliance includes Niagara Lutheran Health System, as well as The GreenFields, a continuing care retirement community and Schofield Care.

Mayer said the decision to join the group will ultimately help the company emerge from its financial turmoil.

“This nonprofit, collaborative model provides greater benefit to residents and the community than the for-profit alternative,” Mayer said in his report. March 2023. “Freed from the financial obligations of generating returns for investors, nonprofit elder care organizations can reinvest their profits back into their operations and communities, resulting in superior clinical outcomes, more satisfied employees, and improved patient and community well-being.”

However, Weinberg’s latent financial problems persisted even during negotiations for an 18-month contract voted on by workers that included wage and pension increases.

“When we negotiated our union contract this summer, management agreed to negotiated wage increases and retroactive employee benefits. They should have been honest and said that they could not fulfill these promises,” Bogdanova said.

The tragedy of disinvestment

In a matter of weeks, Rosa Coplon could be added to the list of centuries-old New York nursing homes who succumbed to monetary pressure.

State funding restrictions are largely to blame, officials say, making it difficult for service providers to find their footing.

“The situation is a tragedy. What we are seeing is the story of nursing home disinvestment in New York rearing its ugly head,” said Stephen B. Hans, president and CEO of the New York State Health Facilities Association. McKnight Long Term Care News. “It is critical that the government works in partnership with suppliers and workers to resolve this situation.”

In March, government officials offered Medicaid reimbursement a rate hike that would help correct a 16-year funding shortfall. But as the increase coincides with chronic staffing problems, some say it may be too little, too late.

“The government only funds about 75% of the cost of a Medicaid resident living in a nursing home, which essentially sets nursing homes up for failure,” Hans said. “When you underfund Medicaid in the face of a long-term care staffing crisis, those two in and of themselves are a recipe for closure, and that’s a recipe for limiting access to basic, needed care.”

SEIU officials said if the state doesn’t offer a lifeline and the campus closes, they will try to find employees jobs elsewhere and expedite health insurance coverage.

McKnight Long Term Care News” attempts to contact CEO Robert Mayer were unsuccessful.