Nursing home closure forcing 600 residents to find new place to live

More than 600 hundred residents at a local nursing home have to find a new place to live after the facility announced it will close in a few months.

On December 1, Kindred announced five of its facilities will close by March. More than 600 residents living at the Dedham, Needham Heights, Canton, Boston and Needham locations must find a new place to live.

"At 72, I get scared. I try to take care of myself as best I can," said Canton resident Elizabeth Johnston. "I was shocked when they told us we had to go."

Residents tell Boston 25 News reporter Stephanie Coueignoux they are scared, angry and can't believe they only have a few months to find a new place to live.

"Life happens. It comes and kicks you. You don't know what's around that next bend," said resident Terry Melket.

Melket says she's lived at the Canton facility for the past 24 years and isn't sure where she'll end up.

"Yesterday I was on the phone... just calling, calling, calling. No beds available," said Melket.

Boston 25 News called the Department of Public Health, which helps oversee nursing home closures. A spokesperson sent the following statement:

Nursing home utilization continues to decrease as members have increased options available to meet their needs and more members choose to receive care in their homes with supports from MassHealth.  Massachusetts has more than 45,000 nursing home beds available with an increasing vacancy rate annually.  Despite declining utilization, MassHealth's total spending on nursing facilities increased by $45 million last year. The Department of Public Health was recently notified by Genesis Healthcare and Kindred Healthcare of their intent to close a total of five long term care facilities in Massachusetts. Currently, there are more than 6,600 unoccupied beds across the Commonwealth and MassHealth is committed to ensure that affected members will be smoothly transitioned to new providers.

Melket says that number doesn't tell the entire story.

"That's the scary part! Because there are plenty of beds available in the places that weren't rated so well," said Melket.

A Kindred spokeswoman told Boston 25 News they will help residents find new facilities and pay for their moving expenses. They say they will also help staff find new job opportunities:

It is with regret that after much deliberation between Kindred and the landlord for Kindred Transitional Care & Rehabilitation – Highgate, Kindred Transitional Care & Rehabilitation – Avery, Kindred Nursing & Rehabilitation – Tower Hill, Kindred Nursing & Rehabilitation – Harborlights and Kindred Living-Needham Heights, a strategic decision has been made to close these facilities. This has not been an easy decision for any of the parties or individuals involved.  We have served the community for many years and it has been an honor and a privilege. 
 
A Notice of Intent to Close has been submitted to the Department of Public Health ("DPH") for the four skilled nursing facilities. A Closure Plan will also be submitted to the DPH for their approval. We will also submit a Closure Plan to the Department of Elder Affairs for Kindred Living-Needham Heights. Nothing has changed and we continue to provide care. At this time, we anticipate closing the facilities in mid to late March 2018.

Next Step will continue managing the day to day operations of the facilities and will work closely with Kindred to properly move the residents to new locations in accordance with all State regulations. We are committed to personally working with each of our residents and their families through every phase of this transition. We have assured all residents and their family members that we are committed to continuing to provide high quality care and services to our residents. Throughout this process we will be taking steps to assure the continuity of our caregivers so that residents experience as little disruption to their lives as possible.
 
We will be working closely with DPH and the Department of Elder Affairs in developing and finalizing the relocation plans. We will meet with residents and their families to discuss alternative placement options.  Placement options will be based on a resident's needs and preferences. We will help arrange for residents and their families to visit other facilities, and we will also cover the moving expenses associated with the transition.
 
It is also Kindred and Next Step's plan to assist the employees in identifying other employment opportunities when the time arises. Support will include job fairs and other job placement support.

Cox Media Group