Harborside retirement community gets state approval to close skilled care units

The state Department of Health has approved The Harborside’s plan to close its nursing home, assisted living and dementia care unit as part of a settlement of the retirement community’s third bankruptcy case in 10 years, a department spokeswoman confirmed on Friday night.

It was unclear whether the health department also has agreed to The Harborside’s March 14 deadline for the affected residents to relocate.

Twenty-one seniors live in the areas slated to close, an attorney for the Port Washington facility said on Feb. 20, when a federal bankruptcy judge approved the buyout by Focus Healthcare Partners LLC. About 70 seniors occupy the independent living apartments.

Focus will initially offer only independent living apartments when it takes over The Harborside in a couple of months, Focus co-founder Curt Schaller told Newsday in February.

Monica Pomeroy, a spokeswoman for the health department, said on Friday, “Following a comprehensive review, [the department] approved the closure plans submitted by The Amsterdam at Harborside skilled nursing facility and adult care facility, both of which are licensed by the department.”

She also said in a statement that the department “will closely monitor the implementation of The Harborside’s closure plans, ensuring that residents have the ability and assistance needed to make an informed decision about where their next home should be.”

Harborside CEO Brooke Navarre outlined the steps for shutting down the facility’s health care center in a Feb. 20 letter to residents and their families, which Newsday obtained.

The schedule called for individual meetings from Feb. 20-27  among Harborside officials, residents and their families to discuss relocation options. After subsequent follow-up calls and meetings, residents would be “transitioned to alternate providers” by March 14, when “the health center is closed,” she wrote.

Navarre didn't respond to a request for comment on Friday. A Focus spokesman declined to comment.

The letter’s timing, on Feb. 20, had been criticized by the health department because the letter was sent before the closure plans were   approved by the department and signed off by Chief Bankruptcy Judge Alan S. Trust. He signed the motion on Thursday.

Pomeroy, the health department spokeswoman, told Newsday on Thursday night that the letter had sparked a request for "information from The Harborside so the department can understand the options that were made available to residents who have already moved, and those who remain and will need assistance in exploring such options.”

In terms of the March 14 deadline, Pomeroy said in the Thursday night statement, “Although March 14th is the target date that The Harborside has set to close [the health center], the department expects that these licensed facilities – nursing home and assisted living – remain open until all residents have the ability and assistance needed to make an informed decision on where they would like their next home to be.”

The settlement of The Harborside’s latest bankruptcy calls for a $86 million sale to Focus Healthcare, a Chicago-based investment group. In addition, Focus and the Harborside’s founder, Amsterdam Nursing Home in Manhattan, are providing funds to pay 25% of the $130 million in entrance fee refunds owed to residents and families of deceased residents.

The Focus buyout follows the collapse of an earlier deal with Life Care Services Communities LLC. A regulatory dispute with health department led LCS to drop its bid for The Harborside, which had been approved by the bankruptcy court in late 2023.

By James T. Madore

james.madore@newsday.comJamesTMadore

James T. Madore writes about Long Island business news including the economy, development, and the relationship between government and business. He previously served as Albany bureau chief.