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A nursing home in CT is asking the state for permission to close it’s operation. Employees face losing their jobs and have made some noise about this.

More than a dozen workers at the Darien Health Care Center rallied outside the facility last Friday to protest the possible closing of the nursing home, and to appeal for the state to help.

“We are concerned about these workers and residents,” said Rev. Dr. Anthony Gibson of the Calvary Baptist Church in Darien. “We want to make sure everyone gets a fair shake.”

On April 3, the owner of the nursing home, HealthBridge, announced it had applied to the Connecticut Department of Social Services for permission to close the facility. Darien Health Care Center, located at 599 Post Road, is the only nursing home in the town.

In its request, HealthBridge cited operating losses as a reason for seeking to close the facility.

It’s not a cheap venture- running a nursing home. SO many seem to think it is; and far too many people claim that nursing home owners make huge profits. Some of bigger chains do manage to do that. But not the small chains and certainly not locally owned homes.

Though the company has not been granted permission by the department to close, it has already begun transferring patients and informed staff they will be laid off on or about May 18. The nursing home has more than 100 employees.

“At least the workers have the union to speak for them, the patients don’t have anyone,” said Service Employees International Union Political Organizer Stacey Zimmerman.

The workers are members of the New England Health Care Employees Union.

Union? I don’t suppose it has anything to do with this nursing home closing.

A worker who identified herself as Linda said, “This should not be about profit. We cannot keep throwing them (residents) out like yesterday’s garbage.”

Uh huh…and would Linda and her co-workers- who care so much for these residents, be willing to give up the union in order to keep the nursing home open? Have they offered to do this, to management? I suspect the answer would be NO. And No again.
Until they’re willing to do this, I would advise them to stop mentioning who is tossing the residents into the garbage here- and look in the mirror for the answer.