When Haven Health Center in Cape Elizabeth officially closed their nursing home Aug. 1, 46 displaced residents had already been moved out and were settling into new nursing homes in the area.

The parent company, Connecticut-based Haven Health Care, decided to close the facility after fighting a losing battle against the Maine Department of Health and Human Services and the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The nursing home had been facing stiff penalties, including the possible cessation of Medicare and Medicaid payments, and was being forced to hire a new temporary manager when the decision was made.

The Haven Health Center also has a 60-bed assisted living section that has not been affected.

Residents and their families had at least 30 days’ prior notice of the facility’s closure. But, for 64-year-old Sandra Berry the news of her impending move was still a shock.

“Everything was done so fast,” Berry said. The lifelong South Portland resident had been living at the Haven Health Center on Scott Dyer Road since January and said she was treated well there. Then, “all of a sudden, bang! I woke up one morning and told I was moving.”

Haven was required by law to make every effort to notify long-term care facilities within a 25-mile radius and inform them of their closure and need for beds. One such nearby facility is Seaside Nursing Home in Portland, where many former Haven residents are now residing, including Berry and her roommate Florence Blanchard.

Both said they enjoyed their new home, but Blanchard was also shocked at the abruptness of moving day. It was her oldest daughter who woke her one morning to tell her over the phone that she would be leaving that very day. Blanchard was disappointed Haven had told her family before they had told her.

“They could have had the decency to tell me instead of beating around the bush,” Blanchard said.

Berry’s husband checked out Seaside before allowing Haven to send her there. Now he comes and has meals with her and takes her out for drives and shopping trips.

All in all Berry said the transition wasn’t very tough. “I fare out pretty good,” she said. “I don’t have much choice but to.”

Another former Haven resident who is now at Seaside is 89-year-old Alice Toothaker, who had been a resident at Haven for a year and a half. She said she was disappointed when Haven announced they were closing.

Toothaker’s daughter Liz Wood was also disappointed with Haven’s closing. “I was very content with Haven,” she said. She knew Haven had a bad reputation but she said it was unfortunate her mother needed to leave Cape Elizabeth.

“She wanted to end her life in Cape Elizabeth,” Wood said. “She was born there.”

Toothaker was also disappointed that the parent company decided to close the facility instead of fixing the problems. “That was a dirty deal,” she said. “Haven closed it, the state didn’t.”

However, Toothaker said being forced to move to another nursing home didn’t bother her, “because I’ve been through so many.” After living in five nursing homes in the past 10 years the move to Seaside was a smooth transition.

But, while Toothaker viewed the transition as smooth, Wood said there were some problems. Toothaker was at Seaside for only a few days before she became sick and was sent to the hospital, but Wood said because of a mix-up in paperwork her mother was sent without the signed documents that would have told the doctors not to resuscitate her if the need should arise. Fortunately, that was never necessary and Toothaker is now back at Seaside and wheeling her way through the different wings. She knows at least six other residents there who moved from Haven with her.

“My mother is a social butterfly,” Wood said. Once Toothaker learns her way around and begins to recognize familiar faces she will feel much more at home.

Not everyone was sorry to see Haven Health Center close. Scarborough resident Jack Nason’s 64-year-old brother was in the dementia ward at Haven for almost a year. Nason said he was relieved when he heard they were shutting down.

“I don’t think the care was all that good that my brother was getting over there,” Nason said. His major concern was the quality of employees he encountered and the difficulties he often had with finding a nurse to speak with about his brother. He said he saw the writing on the wall when the deficiencies in care persisted.

“I feel bad for the patients that had to move out of the place,” Nason said. But, “it’s a business, that’s all it is.”

Haven provided Nason with a list of possible spots that had facilities to accommodate his brother. Nason visited some homes and wanted to find a suitable place for his brother before making a choice, but Nason said Haven continually pressured him to make a quick decision. Eventually, Nason said, “Look, I got 30 days. You’re not going to rush me.”

Nason’s brother is now residing in St. Joseph’s Manor in Portland. “I’m just glad he’s out of there,” Nason said, “he’s in a good place now.”

Cape Elizabeth native Alice Toothaker sits on the porch at the Seaside Nursing Home in Portland. Up until last month she had been a resident at Haven Health Center that officially closed it’s 60-bed nursing home August 1.

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