ISLAND NURSING HOME ENGAGES COVENANT HEALTH, INC. FOR ASSESSMENT
Three-month contract will address viability of reopening
DEER ISLE, MAINE—The Board of Directors of the Island Nursing Home and Care Center (INH), Deer Isle’s independent, nonprofit skilled nursing and residential care facility since 1983, is pleased to announce that they have engaged Covenant Health, Inc., a nonprofit organization based in Massachusetts with multiple locations in Maine, to conduct a three-month assessment of the organization’s viability to reopen. The Island Nursing Home closed in October due to severe staffing shortages and relocated all 55 of its residents for their safety and well-being.
“The Nursing Home Task Force is about to release many good recommendations for how we might reopen the facility, and we’re on a short timeline due to our licensing,” said INH Board chair Ronda Dodge. “The next step, beginning immediately, is to work with this knowledgeable provider to check our assumptions and ensure we can reopen in a sustainable, long-term way.”
Covenant’ Health’s initial viability assessment of INH, along with a proposed reopening budget, bed complement, and staffing model, is to be completed by December 31, 2021. These recommendations, after review by key INH staff and the Board, are scheduled to be presented to the community by the end of January 2022.
“The Island Nursing Home is a gem and clearly vital to its surrounding communities,” said Philip Hickey, Covenant Health System Vice President for Post-Acute-Maine and President of d’Youville Pavilion, a 210-bed facility in Lewiston. “At Covenant Health, we are genuinely interested in supporting the success of these types of rural, local healthcare facilities.”
Covenant Health, Inc. has a long history of support for senior care facilities throughout New England including organizations in Bangor, Biddeford, and Lewiston, Maine. The organization has deep expertise in the core areas of service of the Island Nursing Home and more, including acute care, assisted living and congregate housing, residential care, adult day health. skilled nursing and respite care, rehabilitation care, and wellness/prevention programs.
“I’m pleased the INH Board of Directors are moving forward with implementing recommendations of the Task Force and engaging in services with Covenant Health,” said Representative Genevieve McDonald, INH Task Force Spokesperson. “This brings us one step closer to reopening this vital facility.”
To support the reopening of the Island Nursing Home by providing charitable support or volunteering, please contact Heidi Gillen, Acting Administrator, at 348.2351 or hgillen@islandnursinghome.org. More information is also available at www.islandnursinghome.org or the nursing home’s Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/IslandNursingHome, at either of which you can sign up for INH’s new email list for more frequent, comprehensive updates.
The Island Nursing Home & Care Center
Founded by Deer Isle, Stonington, and five other area communities in 1975, opened in 1983. It is an independent, non-profit facility with a mission of commitment to providing the highest level of innovative and quality healthcare to an aging population while maintaining community relationships and honoring its core values of care, compassion, and service.
Covenant Health, Inc.
Covenant Health is an innovative, Catholic regional healthcare system and a leader in values-based, not-for-profit health and elder care. Covenant’s family of organizations includes hospitals, skilled nursing and rehabilitation centers, assisted living, independent senior residences and adult day care organizations throughout New England and Pennsylvania. It is New England’s largest non-profit post-acute care provider. Covenant Health is fully committed to offering a continuum of high-quality, compassionate care to the individuals and communities we serve. Please visit www.covenanthealth.net to learn more or to review a list of associated locations.