Carthage Area Hospital nears closure of skilled-nursing unit

Most residents moved to other facilities within 3 weeks after closure announcement

CARTHAGE, N.Y. — Just three weeks after announcing the planned closure of its skilled-nursing unit, Carthage Area Hospital said it had already moved 18 of the unit’s 23 residents to other facilities in both Jefferson and Lewis counties.

As of July 7, five residents remained in the skilled-nursing unit as staff continued to secure transfers to other facilities in the region, the hospital said in a news release. 

Residents transferred to date have moved to facilities operated by Samaritan Medical Center in Watertown, Lewis County General Hospital in Lowville, and Country Manor Nursing & Rehabilitation Centre in Carthage.

“We are very pleased with the progress that our team has made in the past three weeks to make this transition as seamless as possible for our residents,” Rich Duvall, CEO of Carthage Area Hospital, said. “Transfers have progressed faster than anticipated and have remained local, a fact that has helped to reduce stress on our residents and their families.”

Duvall also thanked officials at Samaritan Medical Center, Lewis County General Hospital, and Country Manor Nursing & Rehabilitation Centre for accepting transfers.

The New York State Department of Health (DOH) on June 16 approved Carthage Area Hospital’s plan to close its skilled-nursing unit. 

The plan included transferring residents to other local skilled-nursing facilities in the region.

The timeline for final closure “depends on the hospital’s ability” to relocate each resident to a new facility, the hospital said in mid-June. It added that it was prepared for a transfer process that could take “between several weeks or several months.”

Jobs impact

Meanwhile, Carthage Area Hospital on July 7 presented the skilled-nursing unit’s 24-member staff with “options for retention and reassignment” within the hospital. 

The unit employs a full-time staff of 17, a part-time staff of four, and a per-diem staff of three, according to the hospital. 

The administration and members of its employee union, Upstate/WNY Division of 1199 SEIU United Healthcare Workers East-New York, met with the staff on July 7, and each employee is “evaluating their options to remain with the organization.”

“We are relieved that we have been able to offer each employee an opportunity to stay with Carthage Area Hospital,” Duvall said. “Specific job reassignments and transfers will not be confirmed until employees accept them.”

Closure plan

The hospital in late March submitted a plan to DOH to close the unit, citing “long-term financial challenges brought by changing state and federal mandates.”

The hospital’s board of directors unanimously approved the closure plan before it reached state officials.

Nursing homes must comply with “numerous” regulations that have “tightened” financial pressures on facilities “like the one at the hospital,” Carthage Area Hospital said.

“Escalating” costs have also driven smaller skilled-nursing homes that “lack economies of scale to evaluate efficiencies” and make “difficult” business decisions. That factor, combined with declining cost-based reimbursement for services provided to nursing home residents, has made the hospital’s decision “essential,” it contended.