Amherst, N.Y. (WBEN) - The New York State Department of Health has approved the closure of the Weinberg Campus in Amherst. This comes after workers' paychecks bounced, as did employee insurance checks this week.
Darlene Gates of 1199SEIU says she received a call Wednesday night about workers' health insurance being canceled.
"They had some critical appointments that they couldn't attend and was turned away from their doctors. Today, I get a call from the workers telling me the DOH had issued a notice of closure," said Gates during a Thursday rally.
Head Cook Christy Earnst explained that she doesn't know what she's going to do without health insurance. She says she's the only source of income in her household, and is concerned about the wellbeing of her husband and son.
"I take my son to the doctor this morning. Couldn't even get his antibiotic. I have a husband who has a stage four lung disease that transferred to his heart, his lymph nodes, his body, can't get up on a daily basis, who survives on his medication to live. Can't go to doctors a test on Monday, can't do it. We need help," Earnst stated. "This is people's lives."
Area vice president of 1199 SEIU, Grace Bogdanov says on top of losing insurance, employees haven't been payed for multiple weeks because their paychecks keep bouncing.
"We learned that Weinberg's accounts were frozen due to a lien from a from a default judgment, and Weinberg campus was able to work out a deal with the vendor to have their accounts unfrozen. In the two weeks since that happened, we've had some members receive pay and some who still have not."
Gates says people were crying in the halls after hearing of the upcoming closure, not knowing what's going to happen next.
"Residents in the hallway don't know what's going to happen next. They don't want to leave. This is their home. This is their second home for most and we just don't know what to do," Gates said.
She has asked the state to step in and keep the facility open.
"If it's doable, we don't understand why no one has stepped up to help the workers and the residents here," Gates said.
Amherst Town Supervisor Brian Kulpa explained that the employees at Rosa Colpon have created a gold-standard of health care, and is calling this an "emergency" situation.
"The town of Amherst is very interested in seeing this place stay, seeing the residents be able to stay, seeing the SEIU employees see their benefits re established, and be able to stay in their jobs servicing the members of our community who need it most. For the town right now, you know, we're going through a lot of unknowns. There's a lot that everybody here has to work with and has to work on together. We're going to continue to do that."
About 100 residents will be affected by the closure.
The New York State Department of Health issued this statement regarding Weinberg on Friday: “The wellbeing of nursing home residents is, and will continue to be, a top priority of the New York State Department of Health. While the Department has approved the closure plan submitted by the Weinberg Campus for the Rosa Coplon Living Center, DOH will ensure the facility operator and administrator carry out a safe and orderly closure that respects the needs and desires of - and is as minimally disruptive as possible to - the residents and their families.
The Department approved the closure plan after Counsel for Weinberg presented the resolution from the Board of Directors, which voted to approve the closure and potential liquidation of assets due to significant debt that is impeding the nursing home from meeting its immediate obligations to safeguard and serve residents.
In addition, the Department has reviewed the significant debt outlined and provided by Weinberg’s CEO, in which millions of dollars are past due and affect all aspects of Weinberg’s operations. DOH staff have been onsite monitoring the services provided for the past several days after intervening to ensure all employees were paid last week and that utilities were secure. While we are disturbed by the Board and CEO’s inaction to address the underlying concerns that directly impact the health and safety of the campus’ residents, the Department will ensure that the facility remains operational until all residents have been safely placed elsewhere.”