Is Brighton Rehab closing? Neighboring facility says it was asked about taking patients

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — Skilled nursing centers in Western Pennsylvania are in jeopardy. Several facility leaders tell KDKA Investigates they're fearful more closures are on the horizon. 

Multiple people contacted KDKA-TV about Brighton Rehab and Wellness Center, saying they fear for the future of the facility. Leaders at multiple neighboring facilities say they were contacted this week asking if they had open beds to take some of the patients who live there.

It's a tough situation that Kristen Oeder, who runs Rochester Manor and Villa, says everyone should hear about.

"Fear, impending doom. This is a lot of folks in our county that are going to be impacted," Oeder said.

Oeder says she's fearful after getting asked if she could take in any of the patients from Brighton Wellness and Rehab.

"I've been describing it as a crisis and now this is a total collapse of the system," she said.

The state's Department of Human Services confirms to KDKA Investigates the facility owes the state more than $9 million in unpaid nursing fees but says DHS does not have the authority to close the facility for that reason.

"We have been reached out to to see if we have any beds available both here in Beaver County, which we don't have any beds here as far as Armstrong County," Oeder said.

Oeder says "a lot" of other facilities have been reached out to. 

She believes a potential closure of Brighton Wellness and Rehab Center, one of the state's largest skilled nursing facilities and one of the area's largest employers, would leave the majority of its 480 patients with nowhere in the community to go.

"Right now, current census today, I'm estimating less than 100 available beds in the county," said Oeder.

Several other facility leaders who talked to KDKA Investigates off camera say even if they had beds available and they're meeting the recently increased staffing ratios, they'd lose money on every patient every single day.

"We're getting paid about $240 per resident per day. It costs at least $300 just to break even for the care and services we provide," said Oeder.

Oeder says no facility is immune to these struggles. Surrounding states reimburse $100 more per resident per day than in Pennsyvlania. It's why she just spent a week in Harrisburg lobbying to save the industry.

"The Medicaid reimbursement rate in Pennsylvania is the real challenge here and we're seeing that through the bankruptcy, the closures," said Oeder.

KDKA-TV's calls to Brighton Wellness and Rehab to ask about the status of the facility and the $9 million were not returned by air time. The Department of Human Services said it hasn't received a notice of closure from Brighton Wellness and Rehab, which must be submitted at least 60 days in advance. 

"In the future, if Brighton Wellness and Rehabilitation intends to make its own business decision to close, DHS would work with residents, their families and guardians, counties, managed care partners, and DOH to ensure that residents are safely transferred to other appropriate options for care," the department said in a statement. 

It's not just a crisis for skilled nursing facilities. Personal care facilities are closing with two closures announced in just the last few weeks. Everyone is hopeful local legislators can help to save not just this facility but the industry as a whole.