SPRINGVILLE, N.Y. (WKBW) — Nearly 40 union healthcare workers in Springville are facing uncertainty after learning their employer plans to close Jennie B. Richmond Nursing Home following approval from the New York State Department of Health.
Union leaders say the closure will displace workers who have spent years caring for residents — many of whom are neighbors, friends, and family members of the staff. Workers say they are heartbroken for the residents who may soon have to leave the community they know and relocate to other facilities.
1199-SEIU has not yet received a formal WARN notice from the employer. The facility's owner, Bertrand Chaffee, did not respond to a request for comment.
WATCH: Springville nursing home set to close, workers and residents face uncertainty
"These residents, this is their home and we're taking their home from them. And I worked the weekend, and a lot of them were very upset," Lucy Shindler, an employee, said. "Tears in their eyes saying that they don't want to go, that this was their home and they wanted to stay."
While workers and union leaders say the closure came as a shock, the nursing home's financial records tell a different story. Documents show the facility lost $800,000 in 2024. Revenue dropped by more than $1 million in a single year, and the number of employees fell from 115 to 91. Even with those cuts, the nursing home finished the year more than $1.4 million in the red.
Union leaders say they will begin negotiating with the employer over the impact the closure will have on workers.
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