Vincentian Marian Manor in Banksville closing after decades of serving residents

PITTSBURGH — Vincentian Marian Manor is set to cease its skilled nursing and long-term care operations on July 1. It’s been a part of Pittsburgh’s Banksville community for nearly 70 years.

“If my mother was down there, I’d be pulling her out now,” said Julie Gardner. “We just noticed there’s not as much traffic going down there. That’s how we can tell something’s going on.”

Gardner can see Vincentian Marian Manor from her house. Last summer, her mom spent three weeks here.

“They were short when my mother was there in staffing,” said Gardner. “They were always short.  I can’t imagine what they’re going through right now to find a new place.”

Vincentian is discontinuing its skilled nursing and long-term care operations because of financial reasons. In a statement to Channel 11, Vincentian stated that it provides $10 million per year in uncompensated care, and it cited cumulative operating cash losses of $10 million over the last four years and $20 million over the last nine years.

“I really think that you can make numbers do anything you want,” said Gardner. “They can say anything they want. It could be due to mismanagement. What are they doing with the funds? There are so many things that they can make the books look any way they want. I believe it, but I’d like to see what the real reason is behind those numbers.”

Vincentian also highlighted realities of the overall industry such as increasing delays in the timing of reimbursement of care, the costs to provide care and the scarcity of workers.

The closure impacts 37 residents and 114 staff members. Vincentian says about a dozen residents have already arranged where they’ll be relocating.

" I feel bad for the people in there because those families have to find somewhere else for those people to live,” said Gardner.

“Staff at Vincentian Marian Manor will work one-on-one with all residents and their loved ones on an individualized transition plan that emphasizes resident and family choice,” said Vincentian Communications and Public Relations Executive Director Jude Hazard. “No residents will be displaced; all will move to suitable accommodations as identified through the transition plan process. As with residents, Vincentian’s People Operations & Engagement (Human Resources) team will work one-on-one with all Vincentian Marian Manor employees to identify their options going forward.”

“I do feel for them,” said Kathy Zwier. “It’s very sad.”

Last Spring, Vincentian De Marillac in Stanton Heights closed. Currently, there’s a proposal to turn the building into transitional housing for homeless people.  The plan has been met with a lot of community opposition.

“The transitional housing proposal at Vincentian de Marillac, while certainly aligned with our mission of human services, only came about due to a public-private partnership identifying a need in that area,” said Hazard. “It is not proposed to be a long-term solution due to the nature and age of the building and Vincentian’s long-term goals.”

Vincentian says there are no transitional housing proposals currently on the table for Marian Manor.

“I believe the patients get wonderful care,” said Zwier.  “I’ve never heard a bad thing about it.  So to find out that it’s closing is a concern to us because we are curious about what’s going to go in there.  There’s been no official statement.  It’s just been on the NextDoor app that we found this out. So all the neighbors are concerned.”

“Be honest,” said Gardner. “Be transparent. You’re dealing with people in a stage of their life that you say is so caring, and you send us fundraising emails all the time to come to these fundraisers to Vincentian and then you turn around and do this?”

Vincentian says what Marian Manor will become after July 1 hasn’t been determined. The childcare center that’s currently in this building, which sees about 70 kids, is going to stay open.

Vincentian says it did everything it could to maintain the skilled nursing center as long as we could but the economic realities forced this difficult decision.

On May 4, Vincentian and Bishop David Zubik are hosting a Commemorative Centennial Mass at Vincentian Home in McCandless. This Mass is 100 years to the day from the original dedication of Vincentian Home. At the mass, hundreds of stones that were painted by people of all ages (from toddlers to older adults) will be blessed by the Bishop.  Later this month, the stones will be moved to their permanent home, a new Intergenerational Centennial Garden on the grounds of Vincentian Home.

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