Nursing home in Grant to close July 15

After more than 50 years of service to the area’s elderly, and their families, Golden Ours Convalescent Home in Grant will close effective July 15, 2022, according to Mary Jo Gengenbach, president of the PCHS Board of Directors. The PCHS Board made the decision at its Monday, May 16, board meeting.
Rumors of the potential closure have milled throughout the community for months, with several people expressing their opposition to the board directly and through letters to the editor about the importance of finding a solution to keep the home open.
However, in the end, the ultimate decision came down to five board members who, according to Gengenbach, and Perkins County Health Services CEO Neil Hilton, have tried all avenues to keep the facility open.  
“Having exhausted significant and ongoing efforts to maintain commitment to the facility, we are extremely saddened to be closing our nursing home facility,” Gengenbach said. Other members of the board include Vice President John Long, Secretary Dianne Harms, Treasurer Richard Thurin and Member Jeff Skeels.
In a statement to the Grant Tribune-Sentinel, Gengenbach said the main factors playing into the closing were staffing challenges and impacts related to the COVID pandemic. Other issues expressed previously by Hilton included lack of adequate reimbursement from government assistance programs, an increase in cost to hire temporary workers to fill open positions that can’t be filled with permanent employees and declining resident numbers.
This closure announcement is one of many across Nebraska within the past few years, Hilton said.
Currently there are 13 residents at Golden Ours, Hilton said. Over the next 60 days, Golden Ours leadership and staff will assist them and their families in transitioning to other facilities, with some residents possibly able to move to Park Ridge Assisted Living, which is also operated by PCHS, he said.
“We currently have six open units within Park Ridge, so we certainly want to be as accommodating to residents as possible within that level of care. We expect that this can effectively be viewed to some degree as a consolidation of effort on our part,” Hilton said.
As for staff, there will be approximately 15 full-time and part-time Golden Ours staff members affected. Hilton said the staff are being asked to continue to support the transition period and will be encouraged to apply for other job opportunities within PCHS.
“Staff that successfully continue through the transition period will be supported as such in a number of ways, including a stay and severance compensation arrangement,” Gengenbach said.
“We cannot thank our Golden Ours staff enough for the sacrifice and commitment they have consistently delivered to our organization and our residents. They have made such a lasting impact on our residents in supporting their quality of life,” she said
There are no plans for the future of the building at this time once the facility is closed, Hilton said.