In an effort to help remedy substantial balance sheet issues, the Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia says it will be selling six nursing homes and one assisted living community it owns in the Philadelphia area under its Catholic Health Care Services system.
The announcement comes following a $39.2 million deficit reported for its most recent fiscal year, with balance sheet troubles measuring in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
“Our difficult financial situation must be addressed and the actions that we need to take may be painful ones,” said the archdiocese’s Archbishop Chaput upon the announcement. “I understand this fact fully, but it is of critical importance that we rebuild our financial foundation so that we can continue our collective good works.”
The system currently includes the six skilled nursing properties and one assisted living community, comprising in total more than 1,400 beds. The properties are located in Philadelphia, Downingtown, Darby and Lansdale across several Pennsylvania counties and had an average occupancy of more than 95% in fiscal year 2013, with the highest level of occupancy at 97.2% and the lowest at 95.3%
The archdiocese hopes for the portfolio to maintain a Catholic affiliation with a condition of sale being all residents remain in place regardless of payer type. It also says it is making ever effort to retain the system’s 1,100 full-time and 950 part-time employees.
“[The time frame] is open ended. We want to do this correctly,” a spokesman for the archdiocese told SHN. “It is not something that is going to be rushed and we will take as much time as is necessary to find the right solution.”
The properties being marketed for sale include: Immaculate Mary Home, Philadelphia; Villa Saint Martha, Downingtown; Saint Francis Country House, Darby; Saint John Neumann Home, Philadelphia; Saint Martha Manor, Downingtown; Saint Mary Manor, Lansdale; and Saint Monica Manor, Philadelphia.
Written by Elizabeth Ecker
