Faith and labor leaders came together in Waterbury Monday to pressure state officials to pay attention to the increasing impact of nursing home closures, which the Naugatuck Valley Project said is quickly becoming a crisis of care.
The coalition of leaders held a public hearing in Waterbury inside the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church. About 70 people showed up to put a spotlight on nursing home closures, including the loss of jobs and beds that comes along with it.
Feds essentially forced the closure of Abbott Terrace in Waterbury in October. By November, two more more nursing homes, Sheriden Woods and Countryside Acres in Bristol, announced their intention to close.
The crisis of care in Connecticut could reach critical mass.
”We’re all going to need healthcare,” said Marilyn Anthony, a registered nurse at Waterbury Hospital. “I just want the public to be proactive in understanding what’s going on. Stop looking at the billboards and ask questions of the nurse management and the CEOs because it’s getting dangerous.”
Anthony said she either can’t find a nursing home bed quickly for patients, or finds one, but has to wait for insurance to give the green light.
“We have a lot of patients who sit around waiting for authorizations to get into a rehab setting. There’s a dance. I just had a patient perfectly stable to go but his stay was four days longer waiting for insurance to say he could go to rehab,” Anthony said.
With the closing of Abbott Terrace, Waterbury lost nearly 600 skilled nursing beds since 2018. The proposed closure of the two Bristol nursing homes will cut another 236 beds.
“If these nursing homes continue to close there won’t be a nursing home to move these folks to. So what do you do now? It’s already happening,” said Jerry Gisondi, whose sister is a resident at Sheriden Woods.
Connecticut is losing nursing home beds at a time when there are not many available. According to the state Department of Social Services, as of October, 87% of the nursing home beds in Connecticut were occupied. That is far above the national average.
“Personally, I’d like to see another person come in and take over the place. It doesn’t have to be the state, but it has to be somebody,” said Neil Walsh, a resident at Sheriden Woods.
Connecticut’s over 65 population will increase rapidly in the coming decades. There is a projected bed shortfall of 3,000 by 2035 and 9,000 by 2045.
All three of the most recent nursing homes to close were managed by the same operator, Athena Healthcare, who just two years ago was the biggest operator in the state; now, only six nursing homes are left.
