Southwest IL nursing home and assisted living facility to close due to financial issues
A metro-east senior living center has announced that it will close in two months due to financial issues not helped by the coronavirus pandemic.
Faith Countryside Homes, a nonprofit nursing home and assisted living facility in Highland, is planning to close on June 10, according to Executive Director Gerald Harman.
Harman said Faith Countryside told its 69 residents and their family representatives about the imminent closure on Monday. Advance notice of 60 days is required, according to Harman. He said employees are helping the residents find care elsewhere.
“As you can imagine, it’s been a sad day,” Harman said in an interview Monday evening. “It’s been sad certainly for the families that we had to notify and also for our staff.”
Harman said a total of 110 people work there. Faith Countryside will try to help the workers find new positions, according to a statement it released on the closure.
For the past several years, the facility’s board of community volunteers tried to find a buyer so that Faith Countryside could continue to operate, but it never happened, according to Harman.
Then, the pandemic hit. Harman said fewer residents were coming to nursing homes from hospitals, decreasing revenues while expenses increased for staffing and supplies.
The facility has 76 beds for skilled nursing patients and 36 apartments for assisted living residents, according to Harman. He said 51 residents were in the nursing home and 18 in assisted living as of Monday.
Throughout the pandemic, Harman said just two residents at Faith Countryside contracted COVID-19. Harman credits the director of nursing, who he said is “very strict” about protocols aimed at preventing the coronavirus from spreading.
Long-term care residents are among the most vulnerable to the virus. They have a higher risk of severe illness or death if infected because of their age and, often, existing health conditions. Harman said no resident from Faith Countryside has died from COVID-19 during the pandemic.
“Our staff has done an excellent job during this whole time frame,” he said.
Faith Countryside has operated since 1973 and opened its new building in 2003, Harman said. He has served as executive director since 2004.
This story was originally published April 12, 2021 at 7:19 PM.
