The Stillwater Center currently has 210 employees and Director Michelle Pierce-Mobley said she will take as many employees as she can. Others can be transitioned to other vacant positions in the county, she said.
“Recruitment in health care right now is really challenging,” said Pierce-Mobley. “We are full and have a waiting list, so we have been looking for staff.”
Pierce-Mobley said the Stillwater Center is a rehabilitation facility, which teaches residents skills that can be transferred to living in broader society, like helping teach them how to dress themselves or eat on their own. The Stillwater Center has 98 residents and 10 respite beds, for people who need a short stay if their primary caregiver is going to be out of town, for instance. The facility also operates a day care program.
Pierce-Mobley said the skills that employees at Greenewood Manor can be easily transferred to work at the Stillwater Center.
“We’re just looking for people who have good hearts and are good workers,” she said.
Members of the Montgomery County Human Resources Department joined Pierce-Mobley in Xenia Thursday to meet with some of the 46 employees at Greenewood Manor. Pierce-Mobley said the Stillwater Center also plans to hold an open house in June for perspective employees.
Pierce-Mobley said the employees she spoke with were appreciative.
“A lot of them said this was a load that had been lifted for them,” Pierce-Mobley said. “For many of them, they hadn’t had to look for a job in 20 years.”
Greene County commissioners decided to close Greenewood Manor, which is certified for 85 beds, because the population of the home was “too small for economical and efficient operation,” according to the resolution commissioners approved.
COVID-19 made this problem even more evident, Greene County Administrator Brandon Huddleson said. Greenewood Manor only started losing money after COVID hit, he said. The nursing home was down about $350,000 after a year.
“It takes a tough situation and makes it more bearable for us,” says Greene County Administrator Brandon Huddleson. “Montgomery County is providing career options for these long-term care workers. Hopefully Stillwater Center, and Montgomery County as a whole, can utilize the skillset of these dedicated staff members. That makes it a win-win for both counties.”
“I know closing the doors of that facility was an extremely tough decision for (Greene County Administrator Brandon Huddleson) and he was also concerned about helping the people currently working at Greenewood find new employment,” said Montgomery County Administrator Michael Colbert. “So I asked our HR Department to provide career options to those employees and asked Michelle, who is the Director of Stillwater Center, to be on hand to answer questions about the Center. We are always looking for qualified candidates and the Greenewood Manor staff already have the skills we require at Stillwater Center.”
Employees who take a job with the Stillwater Center will still be able to stay on the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System (OPERS).
Forty residents would have made Greenewood Manor self-sustaining, Huddleson said. Before the pandemic, about 50 residents lived in the nursing home. Huddleson said this was a hard decision, but it had to be done because the county did not want to dip into its general fund to support the nursing home.
Huddleson said about half of the 35 residents are either going home or to another facility in the next few weeks. Huddleson said the private facilities in the area have offered an outpouring of support.
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