Getzville, N.Y. (WBEN) - The public outcry continues locally to keep the Weinberg Campus open for not just the 140-plus residents living there, but also the 300 healthcare workers who tend to those residents on a daily basis.
"These people are our lives in here. They're our family away from family. These are the only women and men that I love, and now you're taking them all away from me?" exclaimed one resident at Weinberg during a rally held Monday.
In the days after the announcement from the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) approving plans to close one of the largest non-profit nursing homes in Western New York, elected officials gathered to call on NYSDOH to reconsider its plan, while also funding a transfer of ownership to keep Weinberg Campus open.
"There was two paths we could have taken: A path towards bringing in a receiver, shoring up this facility financially, ensuring that everyone here could keep this as their home, or they could go down the closure route. And they went down the closure route. But they didn't tell anyone they were going down that route. They didn't give an opportunity for the side of keeping it open to present their case until we got a call saying, 'We're closing,'" said State Sen. Sean Ryan during Monday's rally.
"Often when nursing homes close in New York State, there is no one willing to step in to take control. We have a receiver ready, willing and able to step in, but we're hearing silence from the Department of Health, and that's a big problem. So we're calling on the Department of Health to do the right thing, and the right thing is to allow people to continue living here as their home. The right thing is to allow all the caregivers to keep providing care here in this facility, and the right thing is to maintain all these beds in Western New York."
State Assemblywoman Karen McMahon says her priority right now is the well-being of every resident who lives at the Weinberg Campus, and the workers who have given their heart and souls to give the residents excellent care.
"I've made it clear to the Governor's Office, to the Department of Health, that the best thing for this entire community is to work together to keep this place open and operating. It's so important," said McMahon on Monday. "Weinberg has been a community jewel. This place has been the standard of care for so many people for decades, and we've come to really depend on this place. It's so important to work together to find a way, we have a path. So the Department of Health needs to look at that, needs to examine everything, and needs to do it quickly, because we can't leave you all in limbo. It's not fair to anybody here. So let's work together."
The Weinberg Campus is set to close before Nov. 30, which will displace the more than 140 residents and their caregivers.
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Working as an occupational therapist in the past, Congressman Tim Kennedy (D, NY-26) has seen firsthand how the transfer of these residents from one facility can lead to declines in patient health, and in some cases, lead to death.
"We know that if this facility closes, our friends, our family members and our neighbors are going to be hurt. And in some cases, it's going to lead to some folks losing their lives. We cannot allow that to happen. We won't allow that to happen," said Kennedy on Monday.
"This closure undermines the welfare of both the residents and the skilled healthcare workforce that serves them, and we'll stand to exacerbate the ongoing care crisis in our region and in our state. Neither we nor the Department of Health can sit back and allow skilled workers to have their work pulled from under them, and neither us nor the Department of Health can allow our friends, our family and our neighbors have their homes taken away from them."
Buffalo's Acting Mayor Chris Scanlon says the decision to keep the Weinberg Campus open should be an easy one.
"We're talking about 120 residents whose comfortable living, stable living, is being brought into question. 300 men and women who don't just come and perform a job or work, they're answering a calling on a daily basis," said Scanlon. "Whether it's the local, the state level, all the partners need to get in a room and figure this out in short order, because what we don't want to do is disrupt lives, put livelihoods in danger, just because of mismanagement and things of that nature. So again, I'm urging everyone at the local the state level to please get in a room figure this out."
Chris Koenig, president of the Lineage Care Group that consists of Schofield Care, GreenFields Care, Niagara Lutheran and two other large non-profits, knows well of Weinberg's 115 years of non-profit service to the Western New York community. He believes that's important to keep in mind, and that's what he's trying to save with the potential ownership change.
"Weinberg is not by itself in these financial issues, but Weinberg may be the tipping point," said Koenig on Monday. "We've seen facilities close across the state, and you've seen other facilities able to pick up the difference. I don't think we can do that in Western New York. We're going to get to a limit when it's going to back up the entire health care system, and it's going to impact more than this facility right here."
If officials with 1199SEIU have not heard from the State Department of Health by Tuesday, they plan on picketing outside of the Department of Health's Office at 295 Main Street later that afternoon from 4 p.m.-to-5 p.m. ET.
WBEN has received the following statement from a spokesperson with the State Department of Health:
"Our top priority is ensuring the safety and welfare of residents and their families following Weinberg’s decision to present its closure plan to the State Department of Health. The depth of Weinberg’s financial problems means that holding out months for a receivership would create an unacceptable risk for the residents’ safety and welfare. For these reasons, DOH is moving forward with Weinberg’s approved closure plan and the orderly transfer of residents to nearby facilities that will deliver the care and support they need. The State is committed to working with any entity interested in purchase of the Weinberg nursing home with the goal of sustaining these beds in the long term."