Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Philadelphia.
The Archdiocese of Philadelphia, as part of its ongoing effort to achieve financial stability, intends to market six nursing homes and one assisted-living facility for possible sale, it was announced Aug. 20. The consulting firm KPMG is helping the Archdiocese assess potential offers for the facilities.
The archdiocese will also seek to outsource management or lease the 11 active archdiocesan cemeteries and two cemetery sites reserved for future use.
According to the archdiocesan Catholic Health Care Services’ annual report, the nursing homes had an operating deficit of $1,420,705 in the fiscal year ending 2012.
The Catholic Cemeteries Office showed about a $5 million decrease in net assets for the year, according to its audited financial statement.
(See all the audited financial statements of the archdiocese for the 2011-2012 fiscal year here.)
“Our difficult financial situation,” Archbishop Chaput said in a statement, “must be addressed and the actions that we need to take may be painful ones. I understand this fact fully, but it is of critical importance that we rebuild our financial foundations so that we can continue our collective good works.”
Nursing facilities operated by archdiocesan Catholic Health Care Services listed for potential sale include Immaculate Mary Home, St. John Neumann Nursing Home and St. Monica Manor, all in Philadelphia; St. Martha Manor, Downingtown; St. Francis Country House, Darby; St. Mary Manor, Lansdale and an assisted living facility, Villa St. Martha, Downingtown.
Not listed for sale was St. John Vianney Center, Downingtown, a treatment facility for priests and religious, and Villa St. Joseph, the residence for retired priests.
Also unaffected by the archdiocesan announcement were those Catholic nursing facilities conducted by religious congregations as well as the Catholic hospitals that are conducted by religious congregations.
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Catholic Health Care Services is the seventh largest faith-based provider of skilled nursing in the country. It has a total occupancy of just over 1,400 beds, and the system employs approximately 1,100 full-time and 950 part-time employees.
A condition of potential sale would be the retention of all current nursing home residents regardless of their payment status. Also, according to a statement by the archdiocese, “every effort will be made to ensure continued employment for all those currently working within the system.”
In the case of the Catholic cemeteries, while outsourcing management and operations the Archdiocese will continue to own the cemeteries and ensure that they will be conducted in a manner consistent with Catholic values and the core mission of the Church, according to the statement.
The archdiocesan Catholic Cemeteries Office currently employs approximately 160 full-time and 30 seasonal employees, and conducts nearly 6,900 committals a year.
“Every effort will also be made to ensure continued employment for those working within the system,” the archdiocese’s statement said.
The affected archdiocesan cemeteries are Cathedral Cemetery, New Cathedral Cemetery and Holy Sepulchre Cemetery, all in Philadelphia; All Souls Cemetery, Coatesville; Calvary Cemetery, West Conshohocken; Holy Cross Cemetery, Yeadon; Immaculate Heart of Mary Cemetery, Linwood; Resurrection Cemetery, Bensalem; St. John Neumann Cemetery, Chalfont; St. Michael Cemetery, Chester and SS. Peter and Paul Cemetery, Springfield.
Also included are two cemeteries designated for future use – All Saints, Newtown and Holy Saviour, Penn Township.
Not affected are the 50 parish cemeteries in Philadelphia and the suburbs that are not owned or operated by the archdiocese.
Employees of both Catholic Health Care Services and the Catholic Cemeteries Office were notified of the plans earlier in the day. At this time no sales or leases have yet been made.
The new announcement concerning the nursing homes and cemeteries is in line with measures taken by Archbishop Chaput since his arrival in Philadelphia in 2011 to address the accumulated deficits built up over the previous decades.
This includes among others a 25 percent reduction in personnel at the central offices of the archdiocese, the sale of closed high school buildings at the former Cardinal Dougherty High School and Northeast Catholic High School, the sale of the archbishop’s residence in Philadelphia’s Overbrook section and the clergy summer home in Ventnor, N.J.
“None of the decisions I have made about our finances thus far were made lightly,” Archbishop Chaput said in the statement. “They have all come after much careful discernment and prayer as well as significant discussion and consultation. In the end, any final decisions about our nursing homes and cemeteries will be mine. They’ll be made with full and due considerations to the mission of our local Church and those who will be affected.”
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Lou Baldwin is a freelance writer in Philadelphia.
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I find this news to be disheartening at the very least. My father has been a resident at St Martha Manor for over a year. Despite the heartache that comes with making a decision to find a residence for him outside of the family home, my family felt blessed that he was able to go to St Martha. Not only did the institution have a great reputation for care; the Chapel, daily Mass and spiritual atmosphere are comforting and calming. One can not assess a dollar value to these things as they are priceless to both the residents and their loved ones.
I believe that the sale of St Martha would not only downgrade the overall level of care but also prove to be devastating to my mother, who as a life long faithful and diligent Catholic would no longer be able to take comfort
that my Dad was in a place that would care for him physically without fear of neglect but also tend to him spiritually.
I can only pray that God will touch the hearts of those making these decisions and present an alternate path to resolution of the underlying financial issues.
Sincerely
Susan Miller
August 27, 2013
To:
Mr. Joseph J. Sweeney, Jr.
Secretary for Catholic Human Services
Concerning the sale of Catholic nursing homes by the Archdiocese, I seize this opportunity to contribute my thought and concern.
I am thankful for the effort and condition made by the Archdiocese to retain “all current nursing home residents regardless of their payment status” and to “ensure continued employment for all those currently working within the system.”
But beside these conditions, it comes to my attention to remind whom it may concern that during our prayers we might ask our lord God for the opposite of this situation.
I am saying this because survey shows that the need of nursing homes by the elderly will increase in less than ten years.
It is important to remind everyone that our health care system is rooted in “the example of Jesus Christ to provide spiritual and physical care with compassion for the sick and the elderly.”
For me personally, working in a nursing home as a Licensed Practical Nurse is more than a calling because of the passion that I have for serving the elderly.
Having lived most of my life without my parents’ company, I tend to care for these residents as one of my loved ones, and I want to serve and protect the elderly people as long as I have the opportunity and strength to do so.
That is why I am inviting all co-workers, residents, family members and all staffs to get involved in intense prayer to the Lord our Father for the best to come.
Thank you all;
Nicomede K. Houndo, LPN
Saint Mary Manor Nursing Home