Vivian Townsend has been working as a home health aide at Vassar-Warner Home for 16 years. She considers herself part of a long and proud history: the 19th-Century building on South Hamilton Street has been operating as a private nursing home for more than 150 years. It survived the Great Depression and two World Wars. It has consistently good reviews online, and is the only non-profit assisted living facility for adults in Dutchess County.
And then, at the end of July, the board abruptly announced it would close.
“It’s been open since 1871! That shouldn’t even happen — not in New York. That shouldn’t even happen," says Townsend. "I’m 62-years-old. I want to retire from here, I don’t want to look nowhere else. I want to stay here.”
Executive Director Ericka Von Salews says the home has been struggilng financially for years due to inflation, low Medicaid reimbursement rates, and low occupancy. Vassar-Warner has capacity for 55 residents across its independent and assisted living programs, but at the time of the board’s decision, only 35 residents and 34 staff members remained.
"We have families that are actually, really pushing to save our building," says Von Salews. "Our families are devastated; our residents are devastated. It's a very difficult situation."
Richard Schuster and Dawn Revelle are among those families. In the past couple weeks, the pair have formed a coalition of stakeholders and drawn up a rescue plan, which they recently presented to the board. Schuster, whose mother has lived at Vassar-Warner for 18 years, believes more can be done to turn things around.
“Years ago they used to do occasional fundraisers and events and things like that, and every once in a while we’d get a letter or something saying that they were doing a fundraiser," he explains. "And we haven’t seen anything like that in years."
Schuster says the coalition is putting together a GoFundMe campaign aimed at making up that deficit over the next several weeks. He estimates they can keep Vassar-Warner afloat through the end of the year with just $300,000.
But now that the state Department of Health has approved the board’s plan to close, they need to do more than that. Schuster says they have to prove – to the board and the state – that Vassar-Warner is sustainable long term. That means taking a hard look at its budget, boosting occupancy, and rebuilding its multi-million-dollar endowment, which he says has been depleted.
“So, we’ve got to dig ourselves out of a little bit of a hole that they’ve created first before we can actually get back to normal," he adds. "But the numbers aren’t that big, this is completely sustainable and possible. I’ve got donors that are ready to go now, we’re just trying to figure out all the details. And we need help.”
While Schuster draws up a master plan, Revelle has been messaging lawmakers from New York Governor Kathy Hochul to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. So far, she says she’s gotten little response. Von Salews says she has reached out to the offices of Congressman Pat Ryan, State Senator Rob Rolison, and Assemblymember Jonathan Jacobson for years, and aside from a recent message from Ryan’s office, she’s also had no luck.
But Rolison and Jacobson both say they’ve spoken with representatives of the home. Rolison, a Republican, says he’s had at least two meetings on the subject. Jacobson, a Democrat, says his office was in talks with the state Department of Health to boost the number of assisted living patients at Vassar-Warner – but then the board decided to close. Regardless, he says he’s willing to help.
“They’ve got to make up their mind what they want to try to do, first," says Jacobson. "I would try to be helpful and see what we could do with getting more patients assigned there, but I’ll wait to hear from them.”
For her part, Von Salews says she is “a million percent behind” working with any official who wants to save Vassar-Warner. In the meantime, the home has begun moving its remaining residents into other facilities, some out of the county.
Many residents are hesitant to make those plans, as they consider Vassar-Warner their home. 84-year-old Arnold Solomon has only been here a year, but he feels none of the other nursing homes he’s toured measure up.
“The lady showed me around and said, ‘Oh, the trees are nice.’ I’m from the Bronx, I don’t really care about the trees," laughs Solomon. "I care about the activities, which is good here. The food is good...and the management is good. And what else can you really ask for? Those are the things that matter to me.”
Bessie Popp moved in nearly two years ago on a friend’s recommendation: she said Vassar-Warner had private rooms and a lot of books, which is all Popp needed to hear. When I meet her, she has a notepad to collect her thoughts.
“I would like to ask why our government hasn’t helped us. It helps other people, but why not us? We’re in this community. We vote. We eat out," she says. "It’s important that they think of us as people.”
96-year-old Ruth Barkowski came to Vassar-Warner after her husband died a few years ago. She says her favorite things are the activities (the bend and stretch program is very popular here) and her neighbors, like 58-year-old Donna Maffia.
“It's like home here. It's like one big family," says Barkowski.
“I’ve made friendships that would break my heart not to see on a regular basis," says Maffia. "You met Ruth. She said, ‘They can’t break up our family.’ And I said, ‘That’s not possible. God forbid it comes to it! We will be in touch.’ But it would never be the same. And that’s what we’re fighting so hard to keep.”
As for Revelle, she hasn’t discussed the closure with her mother — not yet. Revelle’s mom lives with Alzheimer’s and dementia, and as long as she feels there’s still hope for Vassar-Warner, Revelle doesn’t want her to worry.
“My mom loves these women and gentlemen who take care of her. She’ll say, ‘Oh there’s my girl. Oh, there’s my sweetheart.’ And to see that with an 87-year-old woman who suffers from that disease…How do I tell her?" she asks. "How do I say that the place that you’ve become accustomed to, the place that you love – how do I tell her, ‘I have to find someplace else for you to go?’”
Barring a miracle, all Vassar-Warner residents will have to find somewhere else to go by October 14. Schuster says the coalition's next meeting will take place at the home on Wednesday at 5 p.m.
