(Boston Globe – Kay Lazar) The abrupt announcement that four nursing homes in Western Massachusetts will be closing this spring has forced hundreds of people to scramble to find alternative facilities for their fragile family members.
At the same time, overwhelmed hospitals in the region that frequently discharge patients to the four nursing homes are bracing for potential gridlock — elders with nowhere to go languishing in beds needed for new-arriving patients — underscoring the precarious condition of the state’s overwhelmed health care system.
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Meanwhile, state Senator John Velis, a Hampden and Hampshire counties Democrat, is leading a group of state lawmakers trying to find a middle ground that would help keep the four Western Massachusetts nursing homes open, but only if they are deemed safe for residents. The four did not join the lawsuit,so the judge’s ruling does not apply.
“I have heard from multiple constituents, many family members crying saying they have no place for their loved ones to go,” Velis said.
“It makes all the sense in the world that three and four bed rooms could present a very serious problem, particularly in light of what we learned during COVID,” Velis said. “No one is asking for anything that would compromise the physical and mental health for the residents there.”