WINTHROP, Maine — Maine has lost more than ten nursing homes since 2020, and another facility is joining that list.
Winthrop's Heritage Rehabilitation and Living Center reportedly told residents and their families Monday the facility will close within 60 days. The Maine Health Care Association (MHCA) confirmed the 28-bed facility plans to close.
“I thought I was going to be sick because when we had to place her back in August there wasn’t anything [any openings in other facilities]," Elizabeth Lewis, the daughter of a Heritage resident, said.
Lewis' family claims the facility told them it is "no longer feasible for them to remain open."
The company that operates the Winthrop facility, North Country Associates, did not return NEWS CENTER Maine's calls for comment. However, the MHCA said in an email that it was recently notified of the closure.
"We have recently heard about the latest unfortunate closure. Families and staff were recently notified, and my understanding is that they plan on sending a public statement soon," MHCA spokesperson Ben Hawkins, said in an email.
MHCA said the cause of many of the closures over the last decade stems back to low MaineCare reimbursement rates coupled with record inflation and rising labor costs.
"It's scary," Lewis said. "You know, what are we supposed to do with our elderly that can't take care of themselves anymore?"
Lewis said she was able to secure her 91-year-old mother a spot at a different nursing home, but she recognized others may not have that chance due to the lack of available beds across the state.
NEWS CENTER Maine spoke with Maine Monitor Public Health reporter Rose Lundy who heavily researched Heritage Rehabilitation and Living Center in 2022 after the facility was placed on a Special Focus Facility Program list after failing to meet the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' (CMS) standards of care.
"This list means that a nursing home has had a series of quality problems there," Lundy said. "Throughout my reporting, I learned that it was in response to two serious incidents that happened in late 2021."
CMS wasn't satisfied with the facility's operations after two separate incidents of residents wandering from the facility. One incident resulted in a resident's death after being hit by a vehicle.
"It also was related to persistent and poor quality on the latest inspections," she said.
The facility spent nine months on the Special Focus Facility Program list before "graduating" in Nov. 2022.