State officials have approved plans by a Lexington nursing home to shut down in May, the latest in a string of nursing home closures across the region in recent months.
Excel Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation will lay off 110 employees.
The 152-bed facility had about 65 residents last fall, and has already relocated many of them, according to 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, a union representing nursing home workers. As of Wednesday, 22 residents remained, according to state health officials. Nursing homes are responsible under state law for finding a new placement for their residents.
Excel Center is the latest among several nursing homes and assisted living facilities in Massachusetts that have recently closed or plan to close over the next few months, resulting in hundreds of layoffs and relocations of residents.
Since 2000, more than 200 nursing homes, or more than a third of the state’s facilities, have closed, according to the union. State health officials reported that nine skilled nursing facilities have voluntarily closed or are pending voluntary closure this year. The state has more than 45,000 nursing home beds available, but annual vacancy rates continue to increase, health officials said.
Layoffs at Excel are slated to begin in April. A number of certified nursing assistants have been working at the nursing home for more than 20 years.
New York-based Zenith Care Health Group took over the Lexington facility in May 2014 and quickly announced plans to cut the pay and benefits of workers; after union protests, the cuts did not materialize. Excel Center owners announced in January that it would close “due to market conditions.’’
In a 2016 financial statement, the latest available, the facility reported an operating loss of $4.3 million to state officials. At the same time it reported it paid about $2.3 million in rental and management fees to co-owner Jeffrey Vegh.
An attorney representing the company with labor negotiations and a manager at Excel did not return calls for comment Wednesday. Company officials could not be reached for comment.
Zenith tried to sell the Lexington facility last May, but the state Department of Public Health would not approve a deal until the company paid about $750,000 in nursing home user fees it owned the state. Unable to do so, the company announced in January it would close the nursing home “with regret and after much deliberation.’’
State health officials said they have begun withholding MassHealth (the state’s Medicaid program) payments from Excel, and will continue to do so until the debt is paid.
Tim Foley, acting executive vice president at 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, said in a statement Wednesday that Excel’s closing is “deeply disappointing’’ and accused Zenith of mismanagement.
“Now, because of that mismanagement, more than 100 hard-working caregivers and staff will lose their jobs — likely with no severance — and local families must find new care options for their loved ones,’’ Foley said. “This latest closing dramatically highlights once again why we must demand greater oversight of the nursing home industry.’’
Most recently, Kindred Healthcare, a Louisville, Ky.-based company focused on patients recovering from illness or injury, announced in late 2017 it would shut down five facilities in Massachusetts this year. Other recent announced closures include Heritage Nursing Care Center in Lowell and Vibra Nursing and Rehabilitation Center of Western Massachusetts in Springfield.
Katheleen Conti can be reached at kconti@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @GlobeKConti.
