Getzville, N.Y. (WBEN) - The announced closing last week of the Rosa Copland Nursing Home at the Weinberg Campus in Amherst set off alarm bells, with families of residents, and employees who saw their paychecks bounce.
Now, there is an effort to save Weinberg, by putting it in receivership. But that's not a done deal, as many questions remain.
Still, how did Weinberg get in this position?
"It's the same reason that most other nursing homes are in distress," Chris Koenig, President of Lineage Care Group, told WBEN. Lineage is involved with the operations of area nursing homes including Weinberg.
"None of them have a profitable operating margin. Reimbursements do not match costs. The biggest piece is Medicaid reimbursements. On average, nursing homes get paid 100 dollars a day less than the cost of care. At the same time you have inflation, staffing costs that are going up, and regulations. It's very difficult to maintain a business. We can't raise our rates. The state has to," he said.
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Koenig believes it's a systemic issue within the long term care industry that hit Weinberg faster than other nursing homes. He added that he expects more closures.
"Yes, absolutely. It's very similar across the state. There will be a lot of closures in New York State."
Weinberg officials notified residents last week that the nursing home will close by Nov. 30, or when the last resident is discharged.
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The next step in the process is for the New York State Department of Health to consider receivership to the Lineage Care Group.
"It's similar to a transfer of ownership," said Koenig. "But it's not a quick process. Still, we will do everything we can for as long as we can to keep the lights on. The real priority for everybody is making sure that the patients are safe and cared for."