By Jon Dinan
NARROWSBURG — A longtime local nursing home is shutting its doors.
On Wednesday, the Wayne Memorial Health System (WMHS) announced the closing of the Wayne Delaware Manor, a personal care facility just outside Narrowsburg in Beach Lake, PA.
The building that provides shelter and care for 21 residents will officially close July 31 due to “ongoing financial losses,” officials of the Wayne Memorial Health System said.
WMHS Public Relations Manager Lisa Champeau attributed this to an unstable economy and the many regulations regarding assisted living.
“More and more seniors are being forced to remain living at home because many can’t afford personal care,” Champeau said.
WMHS has promised to help relocate residents and find new positions for the 16 staff members. Most employees will be placed elsewhere within WMHS.
In the meantime, staff have been ordered to drive residents to different facilities and assist them with any required paperwork.
George Burkle, 87, of Narrowsburg is one such resident being forced to relocate. Burkle has lived at Wayne Delaware Manor for over three years.
“I’m not happy!” George’s son Craig Burkle remarked. “It was a great facility, and the staff was very competent and courteous.
“It’s a shame – it was very convenient for me to visit him; now I’ll have to drive to Waymart, to either Mallard Meadows or Wayne Woodland.” WMHS purchased Wayne Delaware in 1999.
“It was a Methodist Church care facility before we bought it,” Champeau explained.
And they plan to keep it that way. WMHS hopes to sell the building to a buyer who will keep it a nursing home.