Island Nursing Home board seeks municipal help as facility reports large deficit

The Island Nursing Home (INH) board and supporters again urged the Stonington Selectmen for financial help as the facility reported a substantial operating deficit and limited prospects for sustaining skilled nursing beds.

Skip Greenlaw and Leon Weed told the board they were seeking $100,000 from the towns to restart INH as residential care only, and described a broader financing shortfall the board estimated at roughly $500,000. INH representatives said Medicare reimbursement levels and staffing shortages undercut the facility’s ability to cover operating costs, and that an earlier petition to prevent the sale of skilled nursing bed revenue streams required follow-up action to secure operations.

Town Manager Billings described procedural steps and advised that any town funding would require a petition to place an article on a town-meeting warrant. Selectmen asked INH representatives for up-to-date financial statements and clarification of the ongoing deficit figures before taking further action. At a separate meeting, INH board members said preserving licensed beds could require a larger infusion—figures discussed by the board and meeting attendees included an amount in the neighborhood of $700,000 to preserve bed licenses and operations.

Board members and INH supporters also discussed housing as a barrier to staffing: INH requested assistance exploring housing options for employees and in some conversations asked individual towns to consider offering housing units or other recruitment support. The Selectmen asked INH leadership to provide detailed financials and indicated the board would schedule further consideration of placing financial support before voters if warranted.

No formal municipal appropriation was made at the meetings summarized; INH representatives said they would continue to appear before Selectmen and provide requested documentation.