JONESPORT (NEWS CENTER Maine) -- The final resident at Sunrise Care Facility moved to her new home on Friday morning. This comes after the Downeast Community Hospital, which owns the nursing home, announced its closing on June 13.
Here's a timeline of events between then and now.
- June 13 - Employees and residents are informed around noon time that the hospital has decided to close the nursing home
- June 14/15 - Members of the community show their support and speak to media about what they hope to do. Employees at Sunrise, selectmen, state representative Alley and other Washington County residents felt they could have done something to help if they knew the hospital was struggling to make ends meet. They also signed petitions and asked the Downeast Community Hospital (DECH) Board for a meeting to discuss options to keep Sunrise open.
- June 19 - The DECH Board and town of Jonesport hold a Q & A style meeting for members of the community to ask questions about what is going to happen to the residents, employees and Sunrise itself. DECH was happy to answer any questions about the nursing home, and members of the board say they were just as upset at it's closing as many Jonesport residents. They also say they didn't have much of a choice but to close the nursing home because they couldn't afford to keep it open. The community, still shocked and sad by the news and say they could have raised money or helped fix the building themselves.
- June 20-July 4 - Residents made plans and moved to new facilities. They all went to three facilities in Ellsworth, Machias or Millbridge.So many of them are still together and some are even still roommates. As for the employees, some were let go during this time and others are still cleaning up and doing inventory at Sunrise. Activities director, Lisa Cirone brought all but three of the residents to their new homes and got them acclimated. Two of the three residents she didn't take herself were taken by ambulance, and the other passed away on the 4th of July. She says she did her best to keep them comfortable and make the transition as easy as possible.
- July 5/6 - The night before the last resident moved out, she was the only resident there that night. The nurse on duty messaged Cirone to keep her updated on how the resident was doing. Cirone packed a bag and spent the night at the place she called work for 22 years. She slept in the room with the last resident to keep her company before the transition to her new home in Ellsworth.
All the residents are now moved in and settled in their new homes. Some employees have gotten jobs, while others are still looking. Cirone says they are expected to be finished with inventory and other loose ends in about a week.