Four Western Mass. nursing homes facing impending closureDate: 3/15/2023 WESTERN MASS. — Four nursing homes, two located in Chicopee, one in Springfield and another in Westfield, are facing impending closure after the enactment of a new state mandate. Owners of the nursing homes, Northeast Health Group, first announced the decision on Feb. 6.
The quartet of nursing homes — Chapin Center in Springfield, Willimansett Center East and West in Chicopee and Governor’s Center in Westfield — are the only ownership venture for Northeast Health Group. The organization will dissolve once the nursing homes are closed.
The proposed closure date for the facilities is June 6.
Each home was impacted by an April 2021 mandate established by former Gov. Charlie Baker that placed extra regulations on operations. The law required Northeast Health Group and other senior care facilities to reduce the number of beds per room from four to two and increased minimum staffing numbers. The mandate also provided a rate increase for Medicaid reimbursement. Chicopee Mayor John Vieau shared that both Willimansett facilities lost 20 percent of their beds from the new mandate.
Vieau first heard of the news when it broke to the public. He immediately visited the Willimansett centers to reach out to workers and residents of the senior homes.
“People were anxious, sad and worried because they found out this was happening,” said Vieau in an interview with Reminder Publishing.
In conversations with Willimansett East Nursing Home Director David Ianacone, Vieau learned that the closure of the four homes will lead to over 300 seniors being displaced and roughly 350 employees being laid off.
Vieau also discovered that the major factor causing the closure is decreased profits stemming from the new mandate. Northeast Health Group lost $6.4 million over the last year as the de-densification process decreased the number of seniors who could stay at the homes. Each home also had to install various new equipment, such as upgraded HVAC systems and new sanitation stations, in the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic.
While the Medicaid reimbursement brought some financial relief, it did not cover the increased costs and decreased profits. Vieau said the challenging financial circumstances are forcing the nursing homes to close despite their interest in remaining open.
“They don’t want to close, they want to stay open,” said Vieau.
Northeast Health Group applied for a waiver that would forgo the mandates, but that request has since been denied by the state.
Vieau said both Chicopee senior homes were well received by their residents and the community alike, winning awards over the years for their services. Both Willimansett East and West have been operational since the 1970s.
With the homes’ impending closure, Vieau fears that a “health care crisis” could emerge as displaced seniors are faced with lengthy waiting lists at other senior facilities. He shared that every senior home in Western Massachusetts is inundated with requests, leading to lengthy wait times that leave many seniors without an easy transition option.
In addition, Baystate Health Center reached out to Vieau and informed him that roughly 100 people at their facility are also waiting to be placed in a senior home.
The increased need stemming from Northeast Health Group’s closure is a significant focus for several local leaders. Vieau, Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno, state Reps. Michael Finn, Shirley Arriaga, Kelly Pease and Aaron Saunders and state Sens. Jacob Oliveira and John Velis gathered for a Feb. 13 meeting to discuss potential solutions.
In a statement to Reminder Publishing, Sarno said Springfield will be active in working to aid seniors and employees alike.
“As our state delegation from Western Mass. reaches out to the state Department of Public Health to review and explore the facilities options under the new changes to the state regulations, my administration stands ready and able to assist the families and employees, if needed,” said Sarno.
Sarno contacted President and CEO for MassHire David Cruise for employment assistance in the wake of the announcement. He was also reassured that the displaced seniors would have a place to go.
“We have also been reassured that per the state regulations on this matter, no senior or family will be left behind and without a bed,” said Sarno.
The Massachusetts Department of Public Health hosted public hearings about the closure on March 1 and 2. Members of the state delegation and public issued their concerns with the sudden closure plans.
State Sen. Adam Gomez said his office assisted Chapin Center with their waiver request process. He was disappointed that the waiver was not approved by the state and the sudden announcement of Northeast Health Group’s closure.
“News of Chapin Center’s closure and the other three facilities was unforeseen and unexpected … Now Springfield, an already severely disproportionately impacted community, is about to lose another nursing home,” said Gomez.
Pease said he was “highly disappointed” in the state’s decision regarding the waiver denial. He considered the mandate “draconian” as many facilities have resumed to normal activities in the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic.
“The intention may have been honorable, but we have gone too far,” said Pease.
Pease shared that the Governor’s Center has not endured a COVID-19-based casualty since January 2021. The Chaplin Center also did not have a high fatality total, incurring only one death from COVID-19 since its March 2020 inception in the United States.
“What is the purpose of these rules, because obviously the last year and a half before they ever downsized their population, [the senior homes] had not had an incident? … There is no reason why they cannot stay open and be a viable source in the local communities for families,” said Pease.
Velis stressed that the closure is “catastrophic” to many, with families likely having decreased access to their relatives due to insufficient public transportation options.
“We just don’t have the public transportation,” said Velis.
Area resident Robert Dichy said he and his father endured significant stress when navigating a solution for the “overtaxed” nursing home system.
“My dad is all I have left. In 55 years, I have seen my dad cry once, and today was the second time when I finally found him a bed. It caused so much undue stress to him and myself that did not need to help … It is absolutely ridiculous, people are going to die over this,” said Dichy.
Another area resident, Milagros Delvalle, said she will be unable to visit her brother often due to him likely being relocated to Boston.
“That activated such a stress on me … I’m the only person he has,” said Delvalle.
Springfield Health and Human Services Commissioner Helen Caulton-Harris and City Council President Jesse Lederman also raised concerns with the sudden closure, with both advocating for a delay in the closing date.
“We are not being heard or understood … We will be standing with our residents and the employees, but we implore a strategy be developed that takes in consideration the geographical disparity in Western Mass. and that strategy does look at the needs of this region,” said Caulton-Harris.
“No closure should be permitted by [the Department of Public Health] prior to a plan being in place for every single resident at these facilities,” said Lederman.
Caulton-Harris hopes that the waiver process is reconsidered by the state. An official decision on the facility’s closure plan is expected to be announced before the end of March.
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