McCreedy Home in Washington closing by Nov. 1

WASHINGTON - The McCreedy Home in Washington is closing after determining that the financial insolvency of the operation is too great to recover.

The Washington County Hospital and Clinic Board of Trustees approved decertifying the hospital's long-term care unit during a special meeting on Wednesday, Aug. 12.

'This has been an ongoing conversation for sometime,” said hospital Marketing Director Amy Vetter.

The McCreedy Home is a long-term care facility owned and operated by the Washington County Hospital and Clinics. It has incurred financial losses each year for the past decade.

Coupled with the additional expense of COVID-19 pandemic response, the facilities financial position has worsened, making this service unrecoverable, according to Vetter.

The home had a COVID-19 outbreak in April. As previously reported, the there were fewer than 10 active cases at once and a total of 28 cases after landing on the outbreak list April 7.

Vetter said hospital administrators have been looking at the issue for the past year-and-a-half and knew the financial situation was concerning.

Currently the 43-bed facility houses 23 residents.

The effect of the financial situation and reduced referrals during the pandemic has made it unsustainable to continue operations, and it is anticipated the facility will be closed by Nov. 1.

Over the last decade, the annual financial loss has doubled, Vetter said. The facility reported a $1.2 million loss in 2019.

McCreedy Home remains dedicated to compassionate, quality care for residents and will work with each resident and their family to ensure a smooth transition and relocation to another quality facility, Vetter said.

McCreedy Home leadership is communicating with local partners to find placement for each resident that meets their specific needs and will only consider facilities that are safe and known to provide high-quality, long-term care.

Staff of McCreedy Home were notified of the closing on Monday. Similar to resident placement, leadership is working to identify other employment opportunities and when possible staff will be considered for positions within WCHC's hospital and clinics settings.

McCreedy Home will continue to provide care and services until all residents have been relocated to a new home. Vetter said all family have been contacted and patients have already begun to seek new living facilities.

Though operations of the facility will cease, the legacy of Dr. M.L. McCreedy will live on in Washington.

McCreedy served the local communities as a primary care provider for more than 50 years from 1930 through retirement in the 1980s. McCreedy was endeared by patients and known for his cheerful outlook on life and persistent care of each patient. His legacy will live on with the renaming of the hospital's medical clinic to WCHC McCreedy Medical Clinic.

Currently there is no plan for the building, but Vetter said the administration will continue to look into options for the future.

'It does need some internal work, but we will continue to look at that space when we are looking at developing service lines and service growth,” she said.