FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) – According to the company’s CEO, a deadline for renewing leases or changing management at statewide nursing homes operated by a Warsaw-based company has been extended.
Miller’s Health Systems will continue to operate the facilities at Miller’s Merry Manor, whose leases end Friday, CEO Patrick Boyle said in a statement Thursday.
“Miller’s has been in discussions with the owner of the facilities (of the leased facilities) regarding a new lease,” Boyle said in the statement. “The current lease between Miller’s and the landlord will expire July 1. Talks are ongoing and the owner is expected to make a final decision within the next few weeks. July 1st The deadline for the landlord to enter into a new lease with Miller’s or another operator will be extended as negotiations continue, and facility employees will continue their day-to-day business as usual.
In May, Miller’s Heath Systems, Inc. notified the Indiana Department of Workforce Development that it was terminating its leases with eight Miller’s Merry Manor campuses and that nearly 700 workers would no longer be employed by the company.
Letters to employees obtained by WANE TV, however, showed that the leases for 19 of the company’s campuses were coming to an end.
In those letters, Boyle warned employees that he anticipated that the owner of those campuses, Highgate Capital Investments/Aurora Health, would bring in a new contractor and likely hire most if not all of Miller’s Health Systems employees working at the facilities. .
He echoed this in his statement on Thursday.
“We have been very clear that at no time and under no scenario did Miller ever consider closing (the leased facilities),” Boyle’s statement read. “If another manager is appointed by the owner for the rented facilities, patients will be able to stay and be cared for as usual and without interruption.”
“Additionally, if an alternate manager is appointed by the owner for the other leased facilities, Miller’s will assist the new operator in transitioning current employees into the employment ranks of the new leased facility manager.”
“Finally, if another manager is appointed by the landlord for the leased facilities, Miller’s will continue to operate the other nursing homes it owns statewide and the Miller’s Health Systems ESOP will certainly continue.”
The list of facilities where leases were to be terminated by Friday included those in Columbia City, Fort Wayne and Huntington. It’s unclear how long the deadline for ending or renewing the lease has been extended, but Boyle said his company is still in discussions with the owner of the affected facilities.
“In conclusion, once the owner has made its decision on the lease of the leased facilities, Miller’s will be in contact with all interested parties to review the results of the negotiations,” he wrote in his statement.
