LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) – Louisville-based Signature Healthcare, the state’s largest long-term care operator, said Wednesday it will lay off 100 “support staff and leadership” executives from its headquarters because of costs related to the coronavirus.
The company also partially blames Gov. Andy Beshear’s administration for not sharing additional Medicaid funding provided to states in the federal coronavirus relief aid package with nursing homes, which Signature claims Indiana and Tennessee have committed to do.
The company also blamed Beshear for wasting money on a coronavirus field hospital that has yet to be used at the Kentucky Exposition Center in Louisville.
“We have had to make some very tough decisions that are nothing short of heart-breaking for our company,” Signature CEO Joe Steier said in the news release. “The entire healthcare continuum has been disrupted by COVID-19 in ways never experienced before, and the associated costs have been astronomical, from (personal protective equipment) and additional facility cleaning and sanitizing supplies, to well-deserved additional pay for our frontline hero caregivers.”
Signature, which has 41 long-term care facilities in Kentucky, has been in financial trouble before. The company flirted with bankruptcy before reaching a deal with creditors in 2018, Louisville Business First reported.
Eric Friedlander, secretary of the Kentucky Cabinet for the Health & Family Services, which oversees Medicaid and healthcare facilities, called Signature's action "unfortunate" but defended the state’s posture toward nursing homes during Beshear’s daily briefing.
Friedlander said all nursing homes have benefited from “streamlined eligibility” for Medicaid; free, state-provided testing for residents and staff and an boost in the state’s daily rate for COVID-19-positive patients.
“While I am sorry for (Signature’s layoffs), I still believe Kentucky has provided an aggressive response for our nursing facilities and I believe that, to this day, that is reflected in the numbers of how Kentucky compares to the rest of the nation,” Friedlander said.
Beshear defended his decision to set up field hospital, saying it stands ready to handle a surge of virus cases, which in turn has allowed regular hospitals to resume elective procedures and generate income.
