Residents, Family Members Ask State to Keep Rest Home Open

Residents of the Clintonville Manor nursing home, along with their family members, have asked representatives of the state Department of Social Services (DSS) to do what they can to keep the rest home from shutting its doors due to financial issues.

A public hearing was held at the home on Clintonville Road in North Haven last week to discuss possible closure of the facility, which has served the community since 1983. The hearing was scheduled after Clintonville Manor Administrator Melissa Simonetti sent a letter on Dec. 1, 2011 to the DSS requesting a Certificate of Need (CON) application to shut the facility.

Addressing the public hearing attendees, Simonetti said she wanted residents and their families to know that "the decision to seek closure was not made lightly." Among the reasons she cited for seeking closure were financial losses over the years and flat Medicaid reimbursement. She said that the facility suffered losses totaling $1 million in the last three years.

Simonetti said that in 2011, Clintonville Manor averaged 86 residents, which represents a 77 percent occupancy level-a level too low for the home to sustain itself financially. Simonetti added that a sale of the property failed.

According to Simonetti, there are 57 other nursing homes in New Haven county; she expressed confidence that Clintonville Manor residents would be able to transition to those facilities.

Family members who spoke expressed concern that such a transition would be a difficult one for their loved ones to make. They also spoke highly of the care their family members currently receive at Clintonville Manor and questioned whether that could be replicated elsewhere.

Vincent Mase said he moved his father from a nursing home in Rocky Hill that closed to Clintonville Manor. He said it is difficult to find the "ambiance and brightness" of Clintonville Manor.

"I don't want my father to leave here and go somewhere else. Facilities like this are needed," said Mase. "We have a moral obligation to keep these facilities open."

First Selectman Michael Freda and State Representative David Yaccarino attended the hearing. During the hearing, Yaccarino said his goal was to keep the facility open.

Rich Wysocki, principal cost analyst for DSS, served as the hearing officer. He explained that DSS can grant, modify, or deny the request to close the home. Wysocki said that the public hearing was just part of the process and that it is early in the process.

"We will look to see what options are available," said Wysocki.