UPDATE: New Bedford nursing homes closing today, Fall River, others soon to follow

UPDATE: Bedford Gardens and Rockdale Care in New Bedford were slated to shut their doors Friday according to WPRI 12.

Highland Manor, Dighton Care, and Bedford Village, are scheduled to close on May 24th.

As of May 1st, over 100 patients between the 5 homes still needed to be transfered.

Our previous story:

According to WPRI 12 News, Bedford Village, Rockdale, and Bedford Gardens (all in New Bedford) as well as Dighton Care in Dighton and Highland Manor in Fall River will all close.

The Massachusetts Department of Health stated earlier this week that no new patients were being accepted at the homes due to ongoing operational issues.

Due to bounced paychecks and staffing shortages, a floor at the Bedford Gardens facility had to be vacated and patients moved. A mother of one of the patients was quoted saying “I wouldn’t send my worst enemy here. Please, if you have family members here, come get them out of here,” she said. “They need to go somewhere where people will take care of them.”

Skyline Healthcare owns all five facilities.

The Department of Health did not state a timeline of when the facilities will close, but said they are working closely to monitor the safety and care of the patients.

“We understand that this process may be unsettling and stressful for residents and their families, and DPH is working closely with the Executive Office of Elder Affairs (EOEA) Long Term Care Ombudsman to ensure that residents’ healthcare needs are being met during this time, and that they will be appropriately relocated to other facilities,” the health department said in a statement.