About 1,650 nursing home workers in Nebraska whose employer failed to pay them last month received paychecks this week, according to the court-appointed receiver managing the facilities.
Ken Klaasmeyer of Klaasmeyer & Associates Inc. said payroll went out Friday. The Omaha health care consulting firm was put in charge of the nursing homes after state officials were alerted March 23 that the company would be unable to pay its employees.
Funds continue to come in from the homes’ usual sources: Medicare, Medicaid and private payments.
And the response of the employees, most of whom have stayed, and of the communities where the homes are situated has been remarkable, Klaasmeyer said.
Many of the communities have organized fundraisers to help provide them with some additional funds.
The Nebraska Hospital Association Research and Educational Foundation has committed $100,000 to the cause, with the request that the money go directly to affected employees, the group announced this week. Klaasmeyer said the funds will go to employees as gift cards worth about $60 each.
Laura Redoutey, the Nebraska Hospital Association’s president, said the organization “feels strongly that we need to support our community members at a time of need.”
Immanuel Communities, which owns and operates 11 retirement communities and long-term care facilities in Omaha and Lincoln, contributed $250,000 through its Immanuel Vision Foundation, in the form of $100 gift cards for employees. The organization also made arrangements for deliveries of food and supplies for residents.
“I’ve been humbled by the employees of these communities who continue to serve,” Eric Gurley, Immanuel’s chief executive officer, said in a statement.
What will happen next with the facilities has not been determined. Klaasmeyer said his firm’s job is to make sure facilities are adequately staffed and that residents receive adequate care. The firm also is tasked with making sure staff and vendors are paid.
Public health officials worked with the Attorney General’s Office to set up the receivership and get it approved in court.
The facilities are owned by Cottonwood Healthcare, known as Skyline, based in Wood Ridge, New Jersey. The company was founded in 2016 and took over a number of nursing homes and assisted living facilities that had been previously operated by Golden Living.
Kansas officials, meanwhile, have sought to place 15 nursing homes in that state, also managed by Skyline, under receivership. The Kansas homes are being overseen by another nursing home operator, according to a press release posted by the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services.
About 1,650 Nebraska nursing home workers are paid after state steps in
