Despite Low Patient Count, Hollywood Nursing Home is Staying Alive

Now housing just 29 patients, the Woodlands Hill nursing home campus in its famous Hollywood location has defied odds—and a dwindling patient count—by continuing to offer its services. The Motion Picture and Television Fund’s operators announced three years ago that it would close, but with the help of grassroots organization Saving the Lives of Our Own, the facility is continuing to maintain its care offerings.

“As the residents of the longterm care unit are dying, the mattresses are rolled up and the lights are turned out, but no one new is coming in,” Richard Stellar, a blogger for TheWrap and a member of Saving the Lives of Our Own, told The Wrap/Reuters News. “It’s a war of attrition.”

Reuters reports:

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Last fall, a plan to keep the money-losing longterm care facility and acute care hospital open by transferring operations to Providence Health & Services was abandoned over financial concerns.

An alternative plan was supposed to be in place and announced by the end of last year, but that too has hit a speed-bump. A rumored scenario that would involve bringing on Kindred Healthcare to take over the Woodland Hills complex has reportedly stalled until Congress makes a decision about whether it will keep a moratorium on constructing new longterm care facilities in place.

Administrators are hesitant to provide a concrete timeframe for when a new partner will be announced, but they remain optimistic. With costs mounting, however, there is a real sense of urgency about finding a financially viable solution.

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Read The Wrap/Reuters article.

Written by Elizabeth Ecker