Faced with steep financial losses and the threat of closure at Windemere, the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital has made an offer on a 26-acre property in Edgartown for a new senior living community.
Faced with steep financial losses and the threat of closure at the Windemere nursing home facility, the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital has made an offer on a 26-acre property in Edgartown for a new, multi-home senior living community.
Hospital president and chief executive officer Denise Schepici confirmed Thursday that the offer was accepted Dec. 3.
The proposed project, which would include approximately 70 beds in five buildings and 60 units of workforce housing, is slated for a landlocked parcel at 490 Edgartown-Vineyard Haven Road currently owned by the Philip J. Norton family.
Still in a preliminary phase, the project faces a number of complicated issues, including a need to secure easements across private property and a request to connect to the town wastewater treatment system outside an area where tie-ins are allowed.
Ms. Schepici appeared before the Edgartown wastewater commission Thursday to discuss the matter, among other things describing a bleak financial outlook for the Island’s only nursing home. She said Edgartown is the only Island town with sufficient sewer and wastewater treatment capacity for a project of this size.
Hospital CEO Denise Schepici appeared before the Edgartown wastewater commission Thursday.
Hospital CEO Denise Schepici appeared before the Edgartown wastewater commission Thursday.
“The losses which the hospital covers [at Windemere] are not sustainable,” she told the commission in a prepared statement. “The hospital feels a strong moral and ethical commitment to finding a solution to caring for the frail elder segment,” she continued. “I’m not just here to tell you this tale of woe, but to inform you we have one solution to care for a segment of the elder population and to ask for your help in bringing that one step closer to reality.”
The hospital is seeking permission to extend the town sewer from the nearby Morgan Woods housing development to the building site. At the meeting Thursday, the wastewater commission voted that the town facility could handle the additional wastewater flow, but took no formal action on the request for a tie-in.
It was the second meeting in a month between hospital leaders and the wastewater commission. Hospital chief financial officer Edward Olivier and project manager Chris Alley also attended.
The proposed project would eventually need approval from the Martha’s Vineyard Commission, among other agencies.
As elder care facilities go through rapid changes on a national level, Windemere has had to confront challenges of its own. Originally licensed for 86 beds, the nursing home census has decreased in recent years. Mr. Olivier said Windemere now caps the number of residents at between 46 and 50 because of staffing challenges. And while 66 per cent of clients in nursing homes nationally rely on Medicaid, that number is around 85 per cent at Windemere — creating financial difficulties for a facility that saw a $1.2 million loss in 2018.
The Martha’s Vineyard Hospital is a member of Partners HealthCare headquartered in Boston.
Last month Mr. Olivier explained the need for a new elder care and nursing facility that would appeal to more non-insurance clientele, according to minutes of the wastewater commission, telling the commission that the hospital had a two-year window to find a solution to Windemere’s deep financial losses. Absent a solution, the nursing home would close, he said.
Windemere has struggled with staffing issues because of the Island’s housing shortage, with most workers employed on a rotating, three-month travel basis.
In response to the challenges, hospital officials are proposing a Green House model facility that would cluster 12 to 14-bedroom homes in a multi-home community. The Green House model has become increasingly popular, and last year the hospital contracted with Navigator Elder Homes of New England to conduct a feasibility study based on the model. The proposed facility would also have worker housing on site, with the workforce responsible for cooking and laundry, and paid slightly higher rates.
Connecting to the town wastewater plant poses a potential dilemma for the town. Current town policy restricts tie-ins to an area inside the Edgartown Great Pond watershed, per an agreement with the state Department of Environmental Protection and the town’s broader sewerage plan. Connecting to the Morgan Woods town sewer extension would also require an easement through property owned by the Hall family known as Hallsgate, which town officials hinted would be hard to accomplish.
The parcel off Vineyard Haven-Edgartown Road is the second Norton family property to come under a purchase and sale agreement in recent months. The Martha’s Vineyard Boys and Girls Club signed a deal last spring to buy 21 acres of Norton family land off the Edgartown-West Tisbury Road for an expanded club facility. There has been discussion about using a portion of the property the hospital wants to buy as potential mitigation for disturbing moth habitat on natural heritage land in connection with the Boys and Girls Club project. On Thursday, Ms. Schepici said the hospital is open to participating in that effort as well if it buys the property as planned.
She acknowledged that the hospital is asking for an exception to town rules. “The wastewater commission needs to decide whether this project and the extension . . . merits an exemption from your present policy of disapproval of such extension,” she said. “There are many steps and hurdles to overcome before we can even start . . . Time is of the essence though.”
Comments
Time to take hallsgate by
disugusted edgTime to take hallsgate by eminant domain if necessary. Push a connector road through which would relieve traffic at the triangle without disturbing the established neighborhood of pennywise path residents. Then the town could sell off the building lots at market price to recoup the expense.
Ugh. I was hopeful until I
T Bone Oak BluffsUgh. I was hopeful until I read "Hallsgate". The Hall family. The project is doomed.
Please !!! We need to make
Chilmarkchic ChilmarkPlease !!! We need to make this happen. The next generation of elders is a big one. We desperately need elder housing and a nursing home. We must find a solution soon. Elders needing nursing care are currently forced to go off island which creates huge problems for family and friends wishing to visit. Also the wait for a bed to open can be lengthy, especially in the better run facilities. It would be fabulous if we could ease the passage into old age.
US population as a whole is
ClayUS population as a whole is aging at a rapid pace and the Vineyard is no exception. We need a viable elder care solution(s) on the Island and this project is one that merits serious consideration and support from our elected officials and Island residents and property owners.
Yes, I agree we need to
Diane EdgartownYes, I agree we need to continue to take care of our elderly population. What scares me about this proposed facility is the cost. I have lived in towns where for profit facilities have been built and the cost to enter is around $400,000 and your monthly fees are above tthe initial cost and is in the thousands. Elderly care is very expensive and when we start talking private it is prohibited. Before we agree to anything let’s see what the out of pocket cost will be to each individual person. I am sure you will see that we are building another Edgartown Golf Course, giving a lot of land for the use of a small population. This in it’s self is fine if it is what is needed. I, personally think that the population that can afford this care will not be on the vineyard year round. Now, if you can prove to me that people who can afford the cost, which was not yet mentioned, than fine. First and foremost we need to see what it will cost to be taken care of in the proposed private facility. That is the Major question.
They said it was a non
Edgartownite EdgartownThey said it was a non-insurance home meaning it is going to be very high priced. This is a profit grabber for the hospital which will, of course, consider the property tax-free. The work-force housing should be a concern if that means more kids in the Edgartown School without any property tax on the residences to offset the cost.
Let's see if the hospital is truly willing to pay the costs of this type of project so it doesn't become a burden on Edgartown taxpayers now and in the future.
It is also frightening to see that Edgartown is the only town on the Island to have sufficient wastewater resources to support this type of development.
The population that can
Edward EdgartownThe population that can afford this will want to reside in a more tax friendly state. They are not our year round population. This will benefit A few select Uber elite only. Picture wealthy elderly homeowners who have given the adult kids Controll of the family Vineyard vacation home. They will park mom in the facility and visit her while enjoying their vacation on the island. I predict a high turnover of staffers from less fortunate countries working on visas.
“Mr. Olivier explained the
Mark Vineyard Haven“Mr. Olivier explained the need for a new elder care and nursing facility that would appeal to more non-insurance clientele.”
So Windemere, which serves primarily low-income Vineyarders (85% Medicaid), will close and a private-pay nursing home will be built to serve high-income people who can afford to pay. What is the plan for providing skilled nursing care for lower income people on Martha’s Vineyard?
I believe the idea would be
GeorgiaI believe the idea would be to provide a place where anyone would want to live and attract people who can afford to pay out of pocket costs which would then offset the current loss of Medicaid residents and create a more sustainable model that benefits all elderly community members in need of care, regardless of what they can pay.
I think they want to open a
Ng TisburyI think they want to open a for profit senior living situation in order to help fund Windemere, so it doesn’t have to close. Depending on the cost, I’m not so sure they would be able to fill all the beds. With worker housing, Windemere would also possibly have more local staff, instead of hiring more expensive travelers on a regular basis and also having to rent housing for them. Honestly though, if pay and working conditions were improved, some of us caregivers who already live here would consider working at Windemere.
Right on with that comment
maureen fischer west tisburyRight on with that comment Mark. This will not serve the Island Elderly who are aging out of their resources,and while it makes good fiscal sense for the hospital, it will not benefit most of us in the middle class.Many of us are struggling with aging parents who need care, but we are still working full time ourselves, and have spouses or other family members who need support. This will not address any of those issues.
I am not totally opposed this
ECS Ft Lauderdale / EdgartownI am not totally opposed this proposed facility. However, once again the approach seems to be let’s stick a finger in the hole in the dyke [or a replay the WH SSA terminal built, same show, different generally incompetent directers.
First and foremost, on a macro level, as a very first step, the fact that is constantly, at best, given lip service and generally overlooked entirely particularly with regard to infrastructure planning, is the reality that the Vineyard is an island, something I too find myself overlooking but which SSA shutdowns, canceled Cape Air flights and the expense and difficultly of doing anything quickly refreshes my memory.
Carrying ‘we are an island’ thought further is the need for realization that not everyone born on the Island should expect to find a job on the Island, something that is not easy to do in normal times off the Island. And then we get to housing issues … .
Some years ago I had to deal with my Mother’s declining health. She lived in Virginia and none of us lived anywhere near her. She never cared for Florida but Florida for a variety of reasons has reasonably good quality and reasonably priced Assisted Living / Nursing / Hospice facilities which is the undeniable path these things follow. We moved her to Florida where my wife and I could visit her regularly. Her mobility was limited so she was confined to the AL facility except when we brought her to the house, etc. She had a very nice 7-800 square foot I bedroom apartment, her meals were cooked for her, there were buses to take those who could go off premises shopping, etc. I think she was as happy as anyone facing latter stage aging issues could be, Florida or not.
There is a reason the current facility is suffering financial difficulties, many reasons, and some of them are directly related the facility being located on the Vineyard.
Some years ago an Island wide study was done. I looked it over long ago, thought it was an excellent study but one that once completed would be ignored. Since then I have never heard the study mentioned in the approval process for anything from permitting for a new single-family home, or the Stop and Shop, or ferry growth, etc., much less the Meeting House Rd development before the Commission now.
I don’t know if the study addressed the Elderly issue but certainly a lot of thought at the macro level should be given before the first contract is even given serious consideration; ideally a macro Island wide plan for elderly issues should be developed and frankly such a plan needs to give serious consideration to substantial off Island solutions. Frankly, given the performance, or lack thereof of Island politicians, [I wouldn’t use the term ‘leaders’] I suspect this will play out much more like the SSA terminal build than a well thought out, well executed project.
The facility may be located in Edgartown but the expense will be bourn by the entire Island.
Here we go again. New
Ken Edg.Here we go again. New construction contingent on hooking up to our water treatment plant. Lets take care of our residents first.
I agree, our wastewater plant
kwcI agree, our wastewater plant should be used for existing homes (around Senge and Ocean Heights for example). Maybe hospital plans if it really beneficial to Islanders. No more large developments (ie Meeting House), etc. should be allowed to tie in; the Field Club should never have been allowed to use our Water Treatment Plant. We should all think of the benefit for the Island and Edgartown; not for a few
Now I know how OB feels. Yes
Edgartown Taxpayer EdgartownNow I know how OB feels. Yes, a much needed service that will provide for people from all over the Island and beyond. Paid for by Edgartown and only Edgartown taxpayers. I am not against it but let’s learn from OB’s errors in the past and make sure we get paid through property taxes or payments in lieu of taxes or contributions from other towns before sewering this. Maybe give OB a discount.
No worries or concerns of
Bob EdgNo worries or concerns of building if the Halls have to give an easment. For what they will want will not make it feasible to build the wishes of the hospital
The off-island costs of my
disugusted edgThe off-island costs of my relatives in nursing homes are around $14-16,000 per month. Most places will accept a very large up front payment (like your house) and 'look back' 5 years financially to be sure you didn't drain your assets before moving in... and when you can no longer pay, and your assets are depleted, THEN they accept medicaid. Having a strict pay only place is a losing proposition. Old people require more medical services than can be provided by a local hospital, and transporting them off-island for specialist services isn't a viable option. There are plenty of residents here with money, but there is a very limited pool of wealthy seasonal folks who will move in. Why? because their children and relatives live OFF island and won't be travelling here to visit them, especially if they sold the family summer home and the relatives will have to pay for hotels every time. I agree we need something, but you need to be able to accept the long time island residents who will not be able to afford this and will rely upon medicair to pay for their long term care. NOTE to people with old parents... start doing your estate planning NOW and get their assets to a minimum.
Agree completely...
Diane EdgartownAgree completely...
Exactly. Lawyers are making a
Ken Edg.Exactly. Lawyers are making a bundle getting people in irrevocable trusts so they can get medicaid. Shouldnt be this way. I hope we can get someone in there that will change the system.
The financials need to be
Edward EdgartownThe financials need to be carefully examined. Private pay care communities tend to succeed in areas with access to teaching hospitals and a much larger geographic area from which to draw staffers. Perhaps a mixed income community would be an easier sell to the community. Most islanders will not be able to afford the $350000+ entrance fees, not to mention the monthly fees of several thousand dollars per month. Those numbers are typical of the low end of these communities, located in areas of the south where the cost of living is MUCH lower.
I also question why Partners Healthcare, or whatever their new name is, is pushing for this. I am old enough to remember when Windemere was built. It was presented a a financial boon to the hospital. Will the new structures also be so poorly built as to be irreparable after 30 years, too?
This is another way to use the resources in healthcare to benefit the concierge class.
Another reason Windermere
Anne Sylvester Oak BluffsAnother reason Windermere loses money -- in addition to importing and housing staff? MVHospital scoops up -- for its own financial betterment -- lots of rehab beds that in most areas are placed in nursing homes (a/k/a skilled nursing facilities). Just across the water in Falmouth, for example, rehab beds are not in Falmouth Hospital, but in JML skilled nursing facility next door to the hospital, which describes itself thusly: JML Care Center provides personal care and state-of-the-art treatment for patients facing post-hospital rehabilitation, long-term care, sub-acute and palliative care.
And what, exactly, was wrong
Sara Piazza EdgartownAnd what, exactly, was wrong with the assisted living facility that was already created at Windemere but is now closed and being repurposed as offices? Why will this new facility succeed when the older (and probably more efficient) model failed?
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