An Amherst, NY nursing home that has been operating since 1916 is closing its doors after ongoing financial problems. But it won’t go down without a fight from those who want to see it stay open, possibly with the help of the state.

The Rosa Coplon Living Center on the Weinberg campus will close by Nov. 30, or the date the last resident is discharged, according to a statement from CEO Robert Wayer on Thursday.

The ad wasn’t completely out of left field.

On October 16, Weinberg employees made headlines when they protested unpaid wages, rejected wages and stopped health benefits. The company officials admitted that they have serious financial problems, from which they would need 15 million dollars to get out.

And in 2022, a long-planned $47 million sale of the Western New York campus of long-term care provider Elderwood, went down. The parties involved attributed the collapse to changes in business priorities as a result of the pandemic. The deal had been in the works since 2017.

With this in mind, some employees are still not ready to part ways.

A press release Friday announced that Weinberg employees, residents’ families and elected officials plan to hold a protest today. They will ask the state Department of Health to fund an ownership transfer to keep the community open, as opposed to simply overseeing and monitoring its closure, as previously announced.

Protest organizers 1199SEIU, the largest union in the country, worked closely with affiliated suppliers to provide support to employees during the period of uncertainty.

“We (the union) partnered with another provider, Lineage Care Group, which is an association that Weinberg belongs to,” said SEIU Western NY Nursing Division Vice President Grace Bogdanove. McKnight Long Term Care. “We’ve really led the charge at Weinberg in the absence of management, especially the last six months.”

Weinberg Campus joined Lineage Care Group in February 2023. The alliance includes Niagara Lutheran Health System, along with The GreenFields, continuing care retirement community and Schofield Care.

The decision to join the group was one that Mayer said he believed would eventually help the company emerge from its financial turmoil.

“This collaborative nonprofit model provides greater benefits to residents and the community than the for-profit alternative,” Mayer said in March 2023. “Without the financial obligation to generate returns for investors, non-profit senior care organizations can reinvest their profits back into their operations and communities, leading to superior clinical outcomes, happier employees and increased patient well-being and of the community.”

Still, Weinberg’s financial challenges persisted beneath the surface, even during negotiations for an 18-month labor-voted contract that included pay and pension increases.

“When we negotiated our union contract this summer, management agreed to negotiated wage increases and retroactive pay for workers. They should have been honest and said that they are not able to fulfill their promises,” said Bogdanove.

The tragedy of disinvestment

In a few weeks, Rosa Coplon could be added to the century-old list Nursing homes in New York which succumbed to monetary pressures.

Much of the blame, officials say, is state funding restrictions, which have made it difficult for providers to find a foothold.

“The situation is a tragedy. What we’re seeing is New York’s history of nursing home divestment rearing its ugly head,” said Stephen B. Hanse, president and CEO of the NYS Health Facilities Association. McKnight Long Term Care News. “It is essential that the state works in partnership with suppliers and workers to resolve this situation.”

In March, state officials proposed a Medicaid reimbursement rate hike, which would help fix a 16-year funding gap. But with the growth coinciding with chronic staffing challenges, some say it may be too little, too late.

“The state only funds about 75 percent of the cost of a Medicaid resident in a nursing home, which basically sets nursing homes up for failure,” Hanse said. “When you underfund Medicaid in the face of a long-term care staffing crisis, those two alone are a recipe for closure, and that’s a recipe for limiting access to essential and needed care.”

If the state doesn’t provide a bailout and the campus closes, SEIU officials said they will try to find employees to work elsewhere and expedite health insurance coverage.

McKnight’s Long Term Care News” attempts to reach CEO Robert Mayer were unsuccessful.