Rally to ‘Save Michaud’ Brought Concerned Elected Officials, Community Members

FULTON, NY – After the sudden announcement of the intended closure of Michaud Residential Health Services in Fulton, the community banded together on Tuesday (July 18) to show their support of the residents and employees that will be impacted.

Organized by Marc Holliday, a candidate for the 25th District of the Oswego County Legislature, Holliday said organizing the rally was an effort he felt compelled to on a personal level.

His wife, Lindsay, had been employed for two years as a nursing supervisor and together, their family lives a few houses down from Michaud.

“They’re like a family here,” he said of the residents and all staff members. “It’s like breaking apart a family, that’s difficult. Not only that but they are my neighbors. If we can’t do something to save Michaud, at least we tried and we let all the residents and employees know, people do care.”

Holliday said 113 jobs are on the line with the intended closure, though some of those staff members have been offered employment opportunities with St. Luke’s, the owner of Michaud whose CEO Terry Gorman cited financial struggles as the reason for closure.

65 residents, he continued, are forced to relocate to other accommodating facilities, some local and some not.

“That was the number one goal of this rally, I wanted to bring awareness to what’s going on here,” Holliday explained. “Fulton is our community, we have been hit constantly with job losses like this. We needed to show our support to these employees as well as these residents. Fulton’s hurting and this is our elderly, our most vulnerable. We need to understand the impact this will have for everyone.”

That impact is being shared between staff and residents alike.

Lindsay Holliday said that Michaud is staffed 24 hours a day, every day of the year including weekends and holidays so residents and their families will always have familiar and comforting faces at their side.

“This is their home, all of that will be changing for so many people and it breaks my heart,” she said.

A 10-year employee of Michaud who chose to remain anonymous said that she will likely be facing foreclosure on her home as transportation restrictions prevent her from seeking employment outside of Fulton, leaving her unable to seek employment in her current career field without relocating her family.

She said the delivery of the announcement was “cold, not very sympathetic” as she received a letter stating the Department of Health’s approved closure date on or around October 1, 2017 without receiving an opportunity to absorb into St. Luke’s.

“I know this is business to them, but these are real lives for us,” she said.

Other Michaud employees Courtney Foster, Sara Kranze, and Courtney Gregory said they were shocked, terrified, nervous, and emotional following the announcement.

While one was offered a position at St. Luke’s, another was offered a part-time position at an Oswego facility though it comes with a pay cut, while the third is still seeking alternate employment.

Their main concern, however, remains on the emotional response from their residents as they relocate to other facilities.

“We love our residents,” Foster emphasized.

“This is family, we’ve grown attached to all of the residents and their families,” Gregory said.

Likewise, the residents are worried about the staff and whether they will be able to find employment elsewhere, they said.

Ronald Spencer, 89, had been a resident at Michaud for only one month before the closure announcement was made.

“We did not know at all,” his wife, Louise, said of Michaud’s financial struggles. “We thought Michaud was very secure.”

Louise, who is currently able to visit her husband daily while he is located in Fulton, said they both were shocked by the news, with “no other way to describe it.”

While the couple are hopeful to relocate Ronald to St. Luke’s in Oswego, that means visits from his wife will slow down to a few per week, with alternating visits from their two sons to ensure Ronald has family support on a consistent basis.

To support the residents and employees, community members and elected officials came together to rally behind those most affected by Michaud’s closing.

“I’m here to support the residents, I hope they can be kept in the county and close to their families. I’m also here to support the employees, I hope they can find employment as well. I’m not here to protest, I understand you can’t run it without any money. The same thing that happened to (A. L. Lee Memorial) Hospital,” Fulton Mayor Ronald Woodward Sr. said.

First Ward councilor on the Fulton Common Council, Tom Kenyon added that city officials were unaware of the financial struggles Michaud was facing.

“There’s nothing the city could have done, we found out at the same time as the people. But that’s not to say we don’t feel sorry, I hope things are able to work out for all staff and residents. I hope something good comes in to utilize the building as well,” Kenyon said.

A representative from Assemblyman Will Barclay’s office was present at the rally, as well as several members of the Oswego County Legislature.

Current representative of the 25th district and Minority Leader, Frank Castiglia Jr. (D-Fulton) said, “Whatever the county decides to do, I’ll support it. I’m working toward the future, finding new use for the building. Whatever county, state, or federal decisions are made to help, I’ll vote in favor of it.”

The presence of so many elected officials and concerned community members left Holliday satisfied with the overall goal to bring awareness to the situation.

“With all these elected officials here, that’s really saying something. We are showing how much we care,” he said.

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