August 18, 2020

Trinity Health Of New England announces merger of senior care programs

REGIONAL
Staff report

 

HOLYOKE – Trinity Health Of New England Senior Communities, Sisters of Providence Ministry Corporation (SPMC), and iCare Health Network have come together to realign two senior care programs in western Massachusetts.

Mount Saint Vincent Care Center of Holyoke (MSV) will care for individuals with long-term medical conditions and behavioral health disorders who are currently served at Farren Care Center of Turners Falls.

This action is being taken in order to sustain services for this vulnerable population. The aging Farren physical plant, which is no longer able to efficiently support the requirements of caring for these complex residents, will close by the end of the calendar year. An iCare-affiliated realty entity will purchase MSV from SPMC.

For several years, Mercy Medical Center/Mercy Continuing Care Network and, since 2018, Trinity Health Of New England Senior Communities, have worked to find a new site to serve Farren’s residents. In January 2020, Trinity Health Of New England Senior Communities entered into a management consulting services agreement with iCare – a company dedicated to caring for society’s most vulnerable individuals – until such time as the parties could develop a sustainable long-term plan for the program.

Skilled nursing facilities, including Mount Saint Vincent Care Center, have faced workforce challenges and, more recently, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Trinity Health Senior Communities, the parent entity for Trinity Health Of New England Senior Communities, has been managing MSV through an operating lease with SPMC.

iCare Health Network will file an application with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health to transfer ownership of Mount Saint Vincent from Trinity Health Of New England Senior Communities to itself, allowing iCare to establish the MSV site as an available new home for the Farren residents who choose to transfer there.

The plan entails making MSV available for Farren residents before the end of 2020. As part of the iCare network, the skilled nursing facility in Holyoke will serve individuals with a dual diagnosis of a medical condition and a behavioral health disorder as well as residents with dementia, cognitive impairment, and other skilled nursing needs.

“While this was an extremely painful decision for Trinity Health Of New England Senior Communities and for the Sisters of Providence, it was made with careful discernment,” said Janice Hamilton-Crawford, president of Trinity Health Of New England Senior Communities.  “The sisters reopened Mount Saint Vincent as a skilled nursing facility in 1971 and oversaw the transition of Farren Memorial Hospital to the behavioral care-focused Farren Care Center in 1990. These communities were at the very heart of the sisters’ mission.

“Given the evolving expectations and complex needs now being addressed in skilled nursing facilities in Massachusetts, iCare’s expertise and proven successes demonstrate its ability to fulfill those demands,” Hamilton-Crawford said.

“This collaboration among the Sisters of Providence, Trinity Health Of New England Senior Communities, and iCare will assure an enduring, stable, compassionate, safe environment for our most vulnerable citizens,” she added.

Hamilton-Crawford praised Holyoke and Turners Falls for working in partnership with Trinity Health Of New England Senior Communities to solidify planning.

Since 2001, iCare has been providing management and consulting services to skilled nursing facilities and other health care providers. Today, iCare manages approximately 1,500 beds in 11 unique skilled nursing facilities. Among its Connecticut locations, six have a Behavioral Health Management focus.

“We are very proud to steward Farren Care Center and Mount Saint Vincent Care Center through this final chapter in their rich histories with the Sisters of Providence. iCare intends to honor that legacy by continuing the exceptional work begun more than a century ago,” said Michael Landi, chief operating officer at iCare Health Network. “Their mission and core values will serve as the foundation upon which we will build. iCare is uniquely positioned and very well qualified to provide quality care to these residents.”