BUFFALO, N.Y. — The clock is just about at zero for Weinberg Campus, with Tuesday marking their final play.
“This is our Hail Mary,” said Weinberg Campus employee LaCearne Toni Banks. “Please save our campus, save our families, keep us all together.”
On Wednesday evening, employees, family members of residents and just concerned citizens attempted to show strength in numbers. They gathered outside the Department of Health’s office in Downtown Buffalo to call for the state to save Weinberg Campus and transfer ownership of the senior living facility.
It comes just under a week after Weinberg Campus announced in a letter to residents that the nursing home would be closing next month due to “financial strain,” leaving 300 employees without a job and nearly 150 residents without a home.
Maryann Diminuco and Carol Czarniak have to prepare for the possibility of an impending closure. Their mother is 86 years old and living with dementia. She's been at Weinberg Campus for eight years.
The two said it's not just about finding a new place for their mother, but more so, if she's even fit to handle a transfer.
“Governor Hochul, if this was your mother, what would you do?” Czarniak said. “Tell me, what would you do? You would save this establishment for the employees, for the families.”
The governor’s office told 2 On Your Side that they did not receive a formal application for an ownership transfer.
The Department of Health responded in a statement saying:
“Our top priority is ensuring the safety and welfare of residents and their families following Weinberg’s decision to present its closure plan to the State Department of Health. The depth of Weinberg’s financial problems means that holding out months for a receivership would create an unacceptable risk for the residents’ safety and welfare. For these reasons, DOH is moving forward with Weinberg’s approved closure plan and the orderly transfer of residents to nearby facilities that will deliver the care and support they need. The State is committed to working with any entity interested in purchase of the Weinberg nursing home with the goal of sustaining these beds in the long term.”
Weinberg Campus’ final prayer is still waiting for an answer.