About six weeks after Tall Pines announced that the skilled nursing facility there would be closing, two patients remain in the unit and are slated to be moved by June 9, officials said.
The move cuts the number of skilled nursing beds used by Maine’s most needy patients that require constant nursing care by more than half. But new owner Magnolia plans to replace the beds with assisted living beds, which require less support.
Of the 30 skilled nursing patients that lived at The Commons at Tall Pines, 28 have already been relocated to other facilities, said Magnolia Assisted Living and Memory Care Chief Executive Officer Ed Sedacca.
In mid-April, it was announced that Magnolia was purchasing the care complex from North Country Associates.
The company said they hope adding more assisted living beds will address the greater need for affordable and accessible residential care options throughout the midcoast area by providing more beds to MaineCare recipients.
“The need for MaineCare beds is much greater than we ever anticipated,” Sedacca said.
Fourteen residents of the closed unit who did not require skilled nursing but were on MaineCare will now be rehoused at The Residence while The Commons is closed for renovations. Sedacca credits Magnolia’s Maine Regional Co-Directors Aimee Cyr and Taylor Morris for handling the fast transition.
The new owners have worked to keep as many beds open in the area as possible, Sedacca said, and they have plans to renovate and reopen The Commons this fall.
News of the new assisted living beds has met with some enthusiasm. Cyr said she’s already received over two dozen inquiries from families looking to bring a relative to live at the Tall Pines complex in weeks.
Amy Fernald, rehabilitation director at the Tall Pines Complex, said the facility will also be looking to expand its physical and speech therapy options for residents and expand their outpatient services through a renamed division known as Magnolia Outpatient Physical Therapy Services.
That expansion will also include increasing physical therapy options at Magnolia facilities in Bucksport and Frankfort.
One of Magnolia’s major goals is to expand services that are available at one facility to all patients at the company’s several facilities in Maine, Cyr and Morris said. In particular, the new speech therapy services are a “critical” part of care, especially for patients who have suffered strokes. Cyr said the Tall Pines Complex will also now be able to have in-residence medical check-ups that would have previously required a trip to the hospital.
“This property not only is allowing us to serve the Belfast community, but it’s also allowing us to expand,” Sedacca said.