South Windsor Nursing Home Closing

May 31--Paradigm Healthcare, a for-profit nursing home operator based out of East Hartford, sold five of its properties earlier this year and is planning to close the last one, in South Windsor, in 60 days.

The state Department of Social Services must approve the closure. It has not yet scheduled a hearing.

CEO Scott Ziskin confirmed the closure of Paradigm Healthcare Center of South Windsor and the sale of the other homes. The home had lost money under its previous operator, and Ziskin said while his company tried for years to attract enough patients to get the facility to turn a profit, there was never a fiscal year where it broke even or made money. Paradigm bought the home in January 2011.

Currently, it has 65 patients, and is licensed for 100 patients.

As the state government has encouraged the elderly and disabled to use their Medicaid funds to hire home health aides, it has become more difficult to keep nursing homes full, Ziskin said.

"We just couldn't get enough occupancy," he said, and the Hartford region has more nursing home beds than there is demand for.

The chain was one of three targeted for a strike by The Service Employees International Union, District 1199, in April 2015. Gov. Dannel P. Malloy convinced the union to postpone the strike, so they could see if there would be more money in the state budget for wages. Ziskin said the contract was settled several months ago, but its terms were not a contributing factor to the closure.

About 70 percent of nursing home revenue in Connecticut is paid by Medicaid, the government insurance for the poor that is financed 50-50 with state and federal taxes.

Paradigm sold its five other nursing homes to RegalCare Management Group. They are located in New Haven, West Haven, Torrington, Prospect and Waterbury. Ziskin said Regal Care Management Group is also a for-profit company, based out of Waterbury.

Paradigm Healthcare will go out of business when the South Windsor home closes.

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