Shuttering sites and spiking costs: The crisis facing older Vermonters who need affordable care
Vermont Public
This summer, the stately, red brick Loretto Home, a 57-bed residential care facility that had been operating in Rutland since 1904, announced it was closing.
It had survived the 1918 flu outbreak, two world wars, the Great Depression and the 2008 recession. But administrators say the worker shortage brought on by the COVID pandemic was the final straw.
“It was a very difficult decision,” says Mary Beth Pinard, executive director of Vermont Catholic Charities, which operated the facility. “Because this is our residents’ home, and we had a very dedicated staff in that facility. We looked at it lots of different ways financially before making the decision to close.”