LAKEVIEW, Ore. – A local health district is shutting down some vital community services.
Lake Health District said that they are closing their Home Health & Hospice agencies as well as their long-term care and assisted living facilities.
The health district said that they can’t afford to keep either service available and that both services lose money for the health district.
They said that staffing costs have increased dramatically because of a reliance on traveling nurses.
The health district said that they are not the only ones, pointing to the State telling them they are the fifth facility to close in Oregon.
“The reality is we are very small, and in order to make it profitable or to at least cover costs, the volume of patients has to be much higher,” Lake Health District CEO Charlie Tveit said. “We’ve tried very hard not to do this, but we can’t sustain this if we don’t get paid enough to provide that care.”
The closest assisted living facility to Lakeview is Klamath Falls 90 miles away, but there aren’t any beds available.
The health district said that they have found beds in Portland and Salem but continue to search for more nearby.
According to the health district, the state has said there could be some possibilities for additional funding, but they can’t plan on that right now.
Residents are being given 60 days to relocate.
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