Elected Officials, Community Saddened By Another Fulton Business Loss

by Mikayla Kemp | July 9, 2017 10:31 pm

FULTON, NY – The sudden announcement[1] from Michaud Residential Health Services to cease operations for the 89-bed nursing home in Fulton marks yet another substantial business loss for the city.

Though on a slightly smaller scale, the closing of Michaud follows the loss of several other Fulton businesses including the former Nestle factory that shut its doors in 2003 outing 467 employees, Miller Brewing that closed in 1994 putting 920 employees out of work, Birds Eye Foods that shut down in 2011 leaving 280 workers unemployed, and the closing of A.L. Lee Memorial Hospital in 2009 which promptly switched to a medical health facility ran by Oswego Health, though the transition was able to absorb many jobs.

At Michaud, 139 full- and part-time jobs will be lost with the intended closure.

“It’s terrible. I feel bad about it,” Mayor Ronald Woodward Sr. said. “It’s a sign of the times, we’re sympathetic to the family members who have people residing there and also the employees.”

Michaud was purchased by St. Luke Health Services from the County of Oswego in 2005 and has operated as a not-for profit nursing home for the last 11 years.

According to the closure plan approved by the Department of Health, the facility intends to close its doors by October 1, 2017.

Several staff at the nursing home were shocked to hear of the intended closing and therefore, the loss of their job.

Representing the third ward on the Fulton Common Council, alderman Don Patrick’s wife is a nurse manager at Michaud having worked there for ten years.

“I am heart broken for my staff and residents,” Patrick’s wife, Melissa said in a public Facebook post that Patrick shared after receiving the news of closure through a text message while on vacation.

Patrick expressed his disappointment and called on Governor Cuomo to offer help to the city of Fulton.

“I am planning, with the Mayor’s blessing, to take a trip to Albany with a few councilmen to speak to the powers at be and find out why Fulton continues being ignored,” he said. “It just seems like Fulton is getting kicked every time we turn around. Its very frustrating. This has been home for my family and I all my life. I’m just disappointed in the state of New York. Its been very difficult, and then we wonder why all our young people are moving away.”

Unlike other business losses, this closure will affect both the facility’s employees as well as all the current residents at the nursing home who will be frantically seeking placement at other local nursing homes.

For some, the option to stay local won’t be on the table.

“Not all will fit into Oswego County (nursing homes) so now families are made to quickly do first come first serve basis of which Oswego County nursing home they want for their loved ones. Michaud is local for most of these families, to have their loved ones now possibly shipped off to Onondaga County is ridiculous. I know for a fact my family cannot travel as much to visit my grandmother if she was placed somewhere out there,” Vanessa Fuller said, whose grandmother, Loretta Fuller has resided at Michaud since 2012.

Fuller was angry that not only did the announcement leave less than three months to relocate her grandmother, but the nature in which the announcement was made – notifying staff, residents, family members, and the community on the same day and not in a timely fashion, she said.

After finding out through social media, Fuller and her family quickly approached Michaud officials to ensure the news was accurate during which time they discovered their would be a meeting with the CEO and staff to discuss details.

Though “completely last minute,” Fuller and her family attended the meeting only to be “disgusted” by the CEO, Terrence Gorman’s lack of comfort for struggling family members of residents and staff, she said.

“He was very heartless in giving us any type of comfort,” though Michaud staff have given the Fuller family plenty of love and compassion, she added.

“No indication this was happening, if we knew this information my grandmother would have been taken out of there sooner and not in such a rushed manner,” she said, nervous of how the sudden transition will affect her grandmother as she suffers from Dementia and Parkinson’s Disease. “She’s now losing her family – those CNAs, nurses, and even doctors have been there for her when we are at work daily. They’re always making her smile, laugh, or just to keep her company until we can visit her. It sickens me how last minute they did this to us, we’ve been wrecks since the news. It’s been so hard for everyone.”

In a letter to community partners, CEO Terrence Gorman said “This decision to close Michaud was made because of continuing and irreversible adverse financial conditions that would erode our ability to continue to meet standards of medical care our residents require and deserve, while providing them a comfortable environment in which to live.”

The letter continued to cite an operating loss of $360,000 in 2015 and more than $500,000 in losses last year, with budget projections for the current year that are “no better.”

While Gorman said the board of directors reached the decision to close only after exhausting all other options, local elected officials say they were not aware of any financial woes and received no outcry for help in any fashion.

“It’s a private non-profit. It’s kind of like if you’ve got a private island, you don’t know if somebody out there needs help unless they call for help,” County Legislator Frank CastigliaJr. (D-Fulton) said, noting that the mayor, the county legislature chairman, and the county legislature administrator all found out of the facility’s struggles with the announcement of closure.

“Unless somebody tells us what help they need, we can’t do anything,” he said.

County Legislator Jim Karasek (R-Fulton, Granby) said the intended closing was a “mixed bag” in that although the city isn’t taking as large of a loss due to the non-profit not paying property taxes, the need to relocate Michaud residents and the loss of jobs is still a “big blow” for the city.

“Those jobs, even working for a non profit, which I do, still are an economic engine to the community. People that work in a community, they tend to spend money in that community. They buy gas, stop and get groceries on the way home, they go out to lunch, go shopping, you find yourself even on your days off that you’re in the community that you work in,” he said.

Both legislators Karasek and Castiglia offered to help in any way possible with their role on the county legislature.

“Now all we can do is wait and see and hope that everybody gets placed locally, as close as they can to family members, and that they do something with that building that gets utilized in a fashion that is good for the community,” Mayor Woodward said.

Barclay Issues Statement on Closing of Michaud Residential Health Services

“Like most residents in the area, I am concerned about the closure of Michaud Nursing Home. While I was aware that Michaud was experiencing financial challenges, prior to last week’s announcement I had not been informed of the planned closure,” Assemblyman Will Barclay said. “Accordingly, I could not assist in devising an alternative to closure.”

He continued: “Unfortunately, because the NYS Department of Health approved the closure plan and the elimination of Michaud’s nursing home beds, it is unlikely that the facility can continue as a nursing home even with different ownership.

“The first priority should be for Michaud’s current operator, St. Luke’s, to assist the current residents and their families find alternative placements at nearby facilities in the county.

“Secondly, I urge St. Luke’s to hold true to its word and assist Michaud employees find new employment – whether in its own organization or elsewhere.

“Finally, I look forward to working with all stakeholders including the city of Fulton in finding an ongoing sustainable use for the facility.

“Michaud has a hardworking dedicated workforce that has provided quality care for its residents for decades.

“I am saddened to see its closure and the impact that closure will have on Michaud’s residents, its workforce and the city of Fulton.”

Source URL: https://oswegocountytoday.com/news/fulton/elected-officials-community-saddened-by-another-fulton-business-loss/

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