Nursing home turns corner financially, official says

The county has paid more than $2 million for the
nursing home.

MERCER, Pa. — The new president of Woodland Place’s board of directors said the embattled nonprofit nursing home has turned the corner financially, and he expects it will able to resume payments on its outstanding multimillion-dollar bond in September.

The county had guaranteed the $8.8 million bond for nursing home renovations and has so far been forced to make $1.7 million in payments that Woodland Place was unable to make.

Controller Thomas Amundsen said the county will also make the $354,912 payment due Saturday, bringing the total paid by the county to $2,057,106.

But Tim Jablon, who took over as president of Woodland Place’s board of directors in January, said the nursing home’s financial situation is changing.

He will submit a financial report to commissioners Saturday showing the facility now has a positive cash flow.

“We’ve got our vendors pretty well happy and things are coming together,” he said when contacted Thursday.

Jablon, who is president and part owner of Wheatland Steel Processing, said he also is serving in a volunteer capacity as the board’s financial director.

He said Woodland Place has been working with Gannon University’s Small Business Development Center to generate what he believes is “a good, solid plan,” and this is the plan that will be sent to commissioners.

Woodland Place bought the former county nursing home several years ago and later undertook extensive renovations on the aging building.

The county guaranteed $8.8 million in tax-free bonds that the facility borrowed for remodeling and updating the facility in 2003.

But Woodland Place encountered financial difficulties shortly afterward resulting, at least in part, from reductions in state reimbursements for Medicaid and public assistance.