Rating:

0.0 (0 votes)

TOWNSEND- The Broadwater Health Center Nursing Home in Townsend is being forced to shut down after its license was revoked by the state and Townsend Mayor Mary Upton says losing the facility will rattle her small community and will have an economic impact on the community.

"The Nursing Home is definitely a draw. It's something we have been very happy to have. Having a nursing home, hospital, a good school system, that's what makes a community. We've had all of that and I think we will again," Upton said.

She added losing a big employer like the nursing home will have an economic impact on Townsend.

"It's bound to have a definite impact on our stores and our food pantry. The various groups that help people are going to have more to do. Almost worst I think is the emotional impact on the families of the people who have to be moved, the people themselves who are being moved to a different location."

For many Townsend residents, the trip to visit their loved ones is no longer just right around the corner. Instead, it will be a 30 mile drive down the highway to Helena.

Upton says for some people the expense of driving to the Apple Rehab Cooney Home could be tough financially.

She remains hopeful, however, saying, "I have every confidence that they will be able to reopen it. I know the Board members and I know that they are very reliable people and I think that now that they know what the problem is they will be working day and night to get it taken care of and bring the people back."

About 30 residents living at the facility are being forced to find a new place to live; the Cooney Home in Helena will be receiving 19 of those patients.