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Sargent GLC set for closure by December |
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Thursday, 24 September 2009 |
 By DEBORAH McCASLIN
Chief Publisher
and MICHELLE ZLOMKE
Chief Managing Editor
SARGENT -- The Golden LivingCenter in Sargent is closing. Come November 30, the doors will go shut on this assisted living facility.
As the community’s major employer, the announcement hit the community hard.
“We lost the hospital 10 years ago. That was bad enough. This could really crush the town,” said business owner Joe Meyer.
Sargent’s Golden LivingCenter employees 63 people, in full-time, part-time and as-needed positions in a town of 600.
“We are not going to save this facility,” said Sargent Chamber of Commerce President Glenn Grint. “This hits home and it hits hard. It is just a sad, sad sign of the times.” He added that if there was ever a time for the community to come together, it was now.
Tony Johnson, Golden Living’s corporate director of operations for the Nebraska district, told Sargent residents during a community meeting last week, that between Broken Bow and Sargent, the two operations lost a million dollars this past year.
“We’re in a bad financial situation here, and we had to consolidate our resources to continue serving Custer County,” Johnson told the Chief.
The Sargent facility is near capacity with 42 residents in a 46-bed facility. Broken Bow has 79 beds and 40 residents.
“We’re hoping the residents will move to Broken Bow. The alternative is to shut them both down,” he said. “We sympathize and apologize for the pain it is causing this town. We understand the profound impact this has on the community.”
If the residents do move to Broken Bow, more jobs will be created in the Broken Bow facility.
“We’re putting all of our eggs into one basket,” he said.
When asked what percentage of the million dollar loss could be attributed to Sargent, Johnson said that the split was 60-40, 60 percent of the loss at Broken Bow and 40 percent of the loss at Sargent.
Broken Bow is a bigger facility; it can accommodate the residents from Sargent. Sargent cannot accommodate the residents from Broken Bow, he explained.
There will not be enough jobs, though, to be able to place all of Sargent’s Golden Living employees.
Johnson said the corporation will help staff find other jobs within the company or work with Nebraska Workforce Development to help them find new jobs.
He said the corporation is assisting families and residents to plan for the transition, whether they decide to move to Broken Bow, or to a facility not operated by Golden Living Center.
“We’re working with the families and the residents to help them decide where they want to be,” he said.
Last week’s meeting became heated before it was over, with questions driving at the position that Sargent’s facility was nearly full and Broken Bow’s was not, and asking for more information as to why the facility would not be sold as a retirement home.
Kathy Drake prepared a handout showing the total number of children enrolled in Sargent schools - 167 and the number of children the community could lose if their parents move due to the job loss created with the closing - 17, 10 currently is school now and seven of preschool age.
Kristy Dunbar, a physicians assistant with Central Nebraska Medical Clinic pointed out the possible reduction of access to medical care the community could also encounter.
“You may be able to legally fight for the beds,” she suggested, “the chances are slim, but it’s up to you to decide.”
Grint asked the citizens of Sargent to put the gloves down, and figure out how to make something out of these lemons.
“They are just doing what needs to be done,” said Grint, asking Sargent residents to look at the bigger picture. “They are company men. When they made this decision they made it with compassion.”
The corporation plans to list the property in Sargent for sale by the end of the year. If another entity wants to use the facility for long-term, skilled care, that will require government approval, Johnson said.
Golden LivingCenter’s license for the beds will not be transferred to a new entity, said Johnson. The company will keep that licensing to use those beds in another community.
Johnson added that any entity wanting to use the facility as a skilled care home would have to apply to the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services for a certificate of need for the beds, and as a state, Nebraska has no such need.
According to the DHHS website, “Activities requiring a certificate of need includes the initial establishment increase, relocation or conversion of long-term care beds or rehabilitation beds. Currently there is a moratorium on both long-term care beds and rehabilitation beds.”
“The perception is that the facility is going to be held hostage,” Johnson said. “That is not true. We will list it and until the day comes we find a buyer we will take care of the property.”
Chamber member Naomi White emphasized that the community needs to find alternatives.
“We need to come together as neighbors and come up with ideas,” she said.
Dunbar spoke of her conversations with Health and Human Services and their policies on rural health accesibility.
“There may be some help there,” she said.
A lot rests on the building and what it may or may not become.
“There may not be restrictions for listing on the building, but it is still up to the corporation to decide on the price,” she said.
Ideas generated included reopening the building as a mental health facility, operating an assisted living center and fighting for the beds.
“We are not going to be able to retain the 60 some employees, but if we even retain 10 it is better than none,” White said. “We need a medically-related facility in Sargent.” |
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 30 September 2009 )
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