A Superior Court judge has ordered the closure of four nursing homes, previously owned by the financially troubled Haven Health Care. The four homes—located in New Haven, West Hartford, West Haven, and Rocky Hill—had combined net losses of $6.5 million in 2009 and all four have been in receivership since January 2011.
The closures have some worried but others see it as an opportunity. Together the homes employ 575 people and these people will have to find new jobs. The closures also mean that 472 beds will be lost. The Department of Social Services, which provides most of the funding for the state’s nursing homes, asserts that there are enough beds to which the residents of the closing homes could be transferred. And the state’s nursing home ombudsman suggests that some of these residents may actually be able to move back into the community, which fits well with the state’s strategy for rebalancing the long-term care delivery system.
