Apr 14, 2020

Kelly Gooch - Buffalo, N.Y.-based Catholic Health has reopened a former nursing home and converted it into a dedicated COVID-19 post-acute care facility. The health system said it partnered with the McGuire Group, a Buffalo-based multifacility healthcare provider, to reopen the former AbsolutCare Nursing Home in Orchard Park, N.Y., and convert it into the St. Joseph Post-Acute Center. The COVID-19 continuing care facility opened April 14, after receiving state approval in less than 24 hours. Catholic Health's 40,000 square-foot post-acute center — which is modeled after the St. Joseph Campus Treatment Facility — is the first such center in Western New York, according to the health system. It will offer short-term rehabilitation and skilled nursing care for those who were hospitalized due to COVID-19 but can't safely return home or to other community-based living facilities. "As we began planning for the governor's call to action to prepare for the COVID-19 acute care surge in Western New York, we asked ourselves, 'where will people go who no longer need hospital care, but may not be able to be discharged home or back to a long-term care facility?'" Catholic Health President and CEO Mark A. Sullivan said in a news release. "The St. Joseph Post-Acute Center will fill some of those gaps and free up our hospital beds for the surge in COVID-19 patients we expect to see over the next several weeks." The McGuire Group will manage the day-to-day operations of the center.