Ellis Hospital to lay off 33 employees as nursing home closes
SCHENECTADY - The parent company of Ellis Hospital will officially lay off 33 of the 194 employees at its nursing home and rehabilitation center on McClellan Street - although most are expected to find jobs in other facilities.
The state Department of Labor posted notice of the layoffs Monday, in accordance with the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act that requires a public announcement of upcoming layoffs of 25 or more workers.
Ellis Hospital Inc. in June said it planned to close the facility, including an 82-bed nursing home, due to financial difficulties. According to the WARN Act notice posted online Monday, the facility closed Sept. 6. The last residents moved out during the summer, according to earlier news reports.
The nursing home, known as Ellis Residential and Rehabilitation Center, was targeted for closure in June.
It opened in1989 in what previously was St. Clare's Hospital. In June, 48 people were living there. Ellis said it had been trying without success for two years to find an organization to run the facility.
Overall, the campus had been 80 percent vacant and was said to be losing $5 million annually. Ellis has been looking to sell the property to a developer while maintaining a family care practice and the nursing school as tenants.
Ellis spokesman Philip Schwartz said the company had offered jobs to everyone who worked at the McClellan Street facility.
"We offered everyone a job elsewhere within Ellis. Most accepted. Some people really have a nursing home calling and wanted to keep working in that industry. For these folks, we hosted multiple job fairs with 12 Capital Region nursing homes, as well as other job placement assistance," he said in an email.
"Four of our employees opted to retire. The 33 total in the WARN notice reflects all of this," Schwartz added.
Hospitals, nursing homes, rehab centers and other health care providers are typically looking for employees much of the time.
Ellis Hospital earlier had conflicts with its nurses who said they were understaffed, although they came together at the last minute over the summer to settle a new labor contract.
Albany Medical Center in Albany is in the midst of contract negotiations with its nurses, and one of the major sticking points is what the nurses there say is chronic understaffing.
This story was originally published September 23, 2024, 8:44 PM.
