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Nursing home closing

Owner cites care worker shortages, rising costs

By Robert Cloud


A local nursing home will soon close its doors.

Crossroads Care Center of Crystal River is currently helping its residents relocate to other assisted living, nursing facilities or back to their homes.

Aaron Topper, owner of 11 Crossroads Care Centers in Wisconsin, plus three others, said the facility will remain open until all 44 current residents are relocated.

“We’re making sure all the residents are accounted for and safely transferred,” Topper said.

Some residents may choose to move to the Crossroads Care Center located 9 miles away in Weyauwega.

“We’re hoping we’ll be able to transfer staff as well, as needed to keep a continuum of care,” Topper said.

Topper said a shortage of direct care workers in the area is one reason Crossroads is closing its skilled nursing facility in Waupaca.

He also noted Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement rates are having a significant impact on nursing homes statewide.

According to Leading Edge Wisconsin, 30 nursing facilities in the state have closed since 2016.

Erica Dynes with the Reedsburg Times-Press reported on June 19, “Wisconsin nursing facilities experienced about $307 million in losses in 2017-18 and lose between $71 and $79 per day for each Medicaid resident served.”

“Rising costs are a major factor, but minimal reimbursement certainly contributes to the lack of ability to maintain the situation here,” Topper said.

Topper said the future for other Crossroads facilities did not seem as bleak as Crystal River.

“This decision is not a decision that came lightly or easily,” Topper said. “It saddens us deeply, for the city and the county of Waupaca.”

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