A former employee of a Benson nursing home says workers there have gotten notice that the facility has closed leaving residents with new homes and 27 people looking for new employment.
Benson Town Manager Matt Zapp confirmed that Cardinal Care Assisted Living closed its doors last week. Mr. Zapp said he only knew that the closure related to financial issues. The facility, located on Morris Avenue near Interstate 95, is formerly known as Oasis Assisted Living.
“It is unfortunate,” Mr. Zapp said of the closure. “We are aware that they have begun moving patients.”
Robin Jackson is a former employee of Cardinal Care Assisted Living. She said employees were given a letter last week. The letter stated that the facility closed because of “the economy and cuts to Medicaid funding.”
Ms. Jackson was unsure of the number of residents who were relocated. She said one employee was leaving after 27 years working for the company. Another employee worked there 18 years.
Jackson said employees noticed government officials in the building several times in recent weeks and that the owner Andrew Wheeler III was seldom there, at the most once or twice a month.
“We never saw him very much,” Ms. Jackson said.
Benson Mayor William Massengill said the closure is the result of the current atmosphere in the health care industry.
“We see a lot of changes for people providing health care services,” Mr. Massengill said. “It is a tough time for anyone providing health care and certainly this facility did that.”
He said it is discouraging to see businesses close.
“It is difficult to see any business close in our community,” Mr. Massengill said. “It is more difficult for residents because that has been their home. It is hard to be uprooted and moved, that is the most tragic thing.”
Mr. Wheeler could not be reached for comment. Courtesy The Daily Record
