BURLINGTON, Wash. — It's the news everyone had feared. Prestige Care and Rehabilitation, a nursing home in Burlington, announced it is closing its doors, putting 54 lives in limbo. And they may not be the last.
"We need additional help here or we're going to lose more nursing homes," said Robin Dale, CEO of the Washington Health Care Association. "It's heartbreaking."
About 1,600 long-term-care facilities are expected to close across the country over the next 18 months, due in part to the costs of coronavirus. At least 20 of them are in Washington state.
Like countless long-term-care facilities, Prestige was already operating on a very thin margin -- then the pandemic hit. The cost of masks, gloves and other PPE increased by more than 300%. Overtime and hazard pay for workers hurt the bottom line, as well.
Then, as the coronavirus started claiming lives in nursing homes, many families started pulling their loved ones out. Occupancy rates in Washington state plummeted to 61.2%, down 16 points from their pre-pandemic levels.
The industry as a whole in Washington state was already more than $100 million in the red -- coronavirus doubled that.
It's unclear how the state will recover.
"We need the state to understand that these shortfalls are real and these increased costs are real," said Dale.
So far, though, the state hasn't helped, especially when it comes to reimbursing nursing homes for Medicaid payments. The state pays homes far less than what it actually costs to care for our sick, old and poor.
"65% of nursing home residents are Medicaid residents," said Dale. "That means their cost of care is being paid for by the state and right now the state is not paying its share."
Dale pointed out federal relief has run out. There is currently no meaningful legislation in Olympia to save those nursing homes that are in financial crisis.
And hope is running out.
"The hope lies with the legislature understanding what's needed and stepping up and doing it," said Dale. "I continue to hope that they'll do that, but I've been doing this too long to be overly optimistic. It's tough."
