Dear Guerin Woods Families & Friends:
On behalf of Guerin Woods’s directors, it is with great pleasure . . .and also sadness. . . .that I announce that we have entered into an agreement for the transfer of ownership of the Villas, effective December 31, 2021.
The pandemic forced us to address our sustainability as an independent provider of assisted living, skilled nursing, and memory care. When considering proposals from potential purchasers, our primary focus was on finding a partner with both expertise in long-term care and the ability to sustain our mission into the future. We were blessed with multiple offers, but ultimately decided to sell to an organization whose principals include former long-term care administrators who operate a small number of other facilities in Indiana.
What impact will this decision have on elders and staff? For most, very little to none. The new owner of the Villas (1002 Sister Barbara Way Property LLC) and the new manager (Villas of Guerin Woods Healthcare LLC) intend for the transition to be seamless, both internally and externally. They have no interest in changing our unique, small-house model. The new owners firmly believe the design of the Villas provides the best in elder care and hope to replicate it elsewhere.
Operations should not miss a beat, even the name will remain the same. Although there might be some tweaks, the new owner even intends to use our electronic medical records system (Point Click Care) and timekeeping and payrolls systems (SmartLinx and Viventium).
Over the coming weeks, elders, their families, and staff will have an opportunity to personally meet the principals who are investing in the Villas. Their transition team will also be working with Guerin Woods’s leadership throughout the transition process.
We anticipated some questions you may have about the transfer and took the opportunity to ask the new owner in advance. Hopefully your questions are answered in the Q&As below. If not, please place your questions in one of the blue question boxes located in the Villas and Administration Building. We will combine them and respond as soon as possible.
We hope you will appreciate that — every step along the way — the board considered what was best for our elders, staff, and the community. Likewise, we considered carefully whom we wanted as long-term neighbors and how they would build upon the foundation that Sister Barbara first envisioned and the reputation the Villas have earned over the years.
Change can be difficult, but we hope you will bear with us as we meet the challenge of this transition.
Sincerely,
Susan
Susan Gernert
President & CEO
Providence Self Sufficiency Ministries, Inc.
Guerin, Inc.
The Meadows of Guerin, Inc.
502-830-4336 (cell)
8037 Unruh Drive
Georgetown, Indiana 47122
guerininc.org
Questions & Answers
Staff
• Will most of the current staff in place be invited to continue to work with the organization after the transition? Yes, we will be working with the Administrator at Guerin Wood and will obtain her input as well.
• Will staff need to re-apply with the new entity for their positions? We will provide offer letters to the staff prior to transition.
• Will all current staff be invited to continue working/keep their positions after December 31? Yes, that is our intention, and we will also consider the Administrator’s input as well.
• Will there be any changes in salary to retain existing staff? We will honor what the staff is currently making.
• How do you anticipate current staff will react to changes brought upon by this change? We look forward to working with the outstanding Villas leadership team already in place and only anticipate changes that the staff will agree are positive.
• What are the changes, if any, that staff will expect in the first 6 months? In the long run? We hope that staff won’t feel a difference in the short term, and in the long term only positive changes. We will have extra training and leadership for the staff at the facility and they generally see this as a long-term positive change.
• What measures will you take to address the staffing shortage and turnover? It’s very difficult to answer this question without first understanding the unique needs of the Villas. Of course, we will do aggressive recruitment, etc., but we would first need to get “under the hood” of the facility to better understand the needs of the facility.
• What is your plan for attracting and retaining competent and compassionate staff? Again, each demographic is slightly different and the staff from that demographic will dictate to us the answer to this question.
• What professional development and “onboarding” opportunities will you offer? We have a very robust onboarding and HR system. We use the EMTRUST onboarding system, and the staff loves this.
ELDERS and FAMILIES
• What immediate changes should elders expect? We don’t anticipate any.
• What are the changes, if any, that elders should expect in the first 6 months? In the long run? We don’t anticipate any.
• Will there be a cost increase? Initially no, but we will do a market study.
• What will happen to the staff? We hope to retain them and will work with the leadership at the facility.
• What other facilities do you operate? Are any of them in Indiana? In the Midwest? Yes, we have several homes in Indiana, the closest one being Shady Nook.
• How will you manage this property from several states away? We will rely on the Villas management team to manage all day-to-day issues, and we have local experts in Indiana to support them. We will also be visiting the Villas on a regular basis.
• Will we just become a number to you? How will we be treated? Never. We recognize and treat each elder as an individual and each facility as being unique.
• Change is difficult for elders and particularly those in the small-house setting. How will you address this? Because we don’t anticipate any changes, we do not believe there will be a negative impact on elders.
• What will you do to be proactive about staffing shortages? Will you over-staff to offset staffing needs during the transition and in light of predictions that COVID is with us another twelve months at least? We always do our best to staff our facilities appropriately to give proper care.
COMMUNITY
• How active do you as principals intend to be in the community? Fairly active. We plan to encourage local involvement by staff and anticipate visiting often.
• Do you anticipate any layoffs after December 31? No.
• What job creation opportunities do you anticipate? It’s very difficult to answer this question without first understanding the unique needs of the Villas.
• Will you hold any job fairs in the immediate future? We intend to.
• Will you hold a meet-n-greet with key community partners? We intend to.
• Will you hold a grand reopening/open house for the community? We intend to.
• Can you give us examples of other healthcare ventures you acquired as going concerns that are doing well? Sure! Shady Nook in Indiana. Cherry Hill in Michigan.
• What are the changes, if any, that the general public will expect from your change in operations and administration? We anticipate only positive changes.
• How will you partner with members of our local community? It’s very difficult to answer this question without first understanding the unique needs of the Villas.
• How will you preserve the historic connection with Sisters of Providence, Sister Barbara and the founders of PSSM? We first have to be involved to better understand how to keep the connection.
• How will you assure the community you are here for the long-term and not just short-term to possibly sell again? As one sign of our commitment, we have agreed to assume the Villa’s affordable housing grant commitments, as originally envisioned by Sister Barbara. We firmly believe that over time the community will see our dedication to this facility and we will earn their trust.
• What plans do you have for improvements and investments in facilities and grounds? We are not aware of needed improvements and investments at this time, but intend to well maintain the Villas and will assess investments in the facility and grounds over time.
Meet David Gamzeh, LNHA, and Akiva Glatzer, LNHA
David and Akiva are licensed nursing home administrators with extensive, hands-on experience in operating small, medium, and large-scale facilities. They have an ownership interest in numerous rehabilitation and long-term care facilities, including a few in Indiana. Although the Villas is a 5-Star facility, much of their experience has been in improving under-performing buildings. David prides himself on assisting facilities implement best-in-class management processes, technology, and human resources practices to ensure superior quality of care for residents. Likewise, Akiva enjoys sharing his experience and educating and sharing best practices in nursing home administration and services. David and Akiva are thrilled to learn about our small-house model, as well as the possibility of replicating it elsewhere. They firmly believe it represents the manner in which elders should be cared for.
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