WELLINGTON — A Wellington nursing home abruptly announced Monday that it was closing, leaving families to scramble to find new homes for their loved ones.

Wellington Manor Nursing Home, which ranked third of 950 nursing homes in the state in the 2008 Nursing Home Family Satisfaction Survey, is shutting its doors without explanation.

The Ohio Department of Health was notified Monday that the facility planned to close immediately, said Sara Morman, agency spokeswoman.

“We quickly went to the facility to make sure there were appropriate staff and resources to care for the residents during the transition,” Morman said. “During our visit, we found that all of the residents’ needs are being met at this time.”

Still, for those who were told to move their loved ones by the end of the week, the news was shocking.

What started out as a typical visit to see his mother Monday afternoon at the facility turned into a mad dash to find her a new home by Thursday, George Rosar said.

“She had been real happy there,” Rosar said Tuesday. “To me, it’s like someone hit you in the belly. You go there expecting to visit someone and instead you learn they’re not going to be there anymore.”

Rosar said he was told the home was closing, and his mother, Gladys Rosar, had to be moved out by Thursday evening.
“We’ve never been in this situation before and didn’t know what to do,” he said. “I was just told by the head nurse that the home was closing. I have no idea where the owner is.”

Owner and administrator Kay Justice left town with no forwarding address or phone number, said a nurse who did not want to give her name.

Justice’s listed Wellington telephone number has been disconnected.

Rosar said the family quickly decided it was in Gladys’ best interest for her to live with family members instead of going to another nursing home.

“My mother is 95 years old, and I don’t think she even knows she is moving, but still, this isn’t right,” Rosar said. “I didn’t have the slightest idea this was going to happen.”

According to the nurse who had worked at the facility for almost three years, Justice sent letters to the nursing director as well as to her lawyer and accountant telling them to close up the nursing home and sell it along with her home and personal vehicle.

The money is then to be used to pay creditors, the nurse said.

In addition, everyone was told not to speak to the media.

“We came into work Monday, and just like that were told we are out of a job,” the nurse said Tuesday. “I’m still in shock. I’m devastated and angry — angry we have to find new jobs in this bad economy but also angry that all the residents will have to find new homes.”

With just 13 patients, Wellington Manor was more like a family than a long-term care facility, said another nurse, who also did not want to give her name.

“We didn’t even see this coming,” said the nurse, who worked there for more than five years. “We just had this huge carnival for the residents. I can’t believe someone would spend all that money on a party and then just leave town.”

One of the nurses said that in hindsight she suspected something was wrong with the longtime owner.

“Kay used to come in and have long talks with everyone and stay until all hours of the night,” she said. “But over the last few weeks, she would come in for short visits to either drop off schedules or paychecks and wouldn’t say much to anyone.”

A search of federal court records did not turn up any bankruptcy or civil cases against Justice. Also, there are no lawsuits, foreclosures or liens filed against either Justice or Wellington Manor in Oberlin Municipal Court or Lorain County Common Pleas Court.

Justice, whose parents, Ellis and Ocie, founded the nursing home in 1969, helped out as a child and took over after her parents died in the 1980s.

The state last inspected the nursing home in July 2008, according to online records.

At that time, Wellington Manor had no deficiencies or code violations and was give a 100 percent compliance score.

A year earlier in June 2007, the nursing home had five minor violations, but none rose to the level of jeopardizing patient care or was indicative of substandard care, the report said. The errors were immediately fixed, and the facility was given a 93 percent score.

Contact Lisa Roberson at 329-7121 or lroberson@chroniclet.com.