For 18 years, Chris Oswald served as CEO of Blue Ridge Village in Martinsville, VA. But faced with a census drop of 50 residents and a $3 million dip in revenues, Oswald famously fired himself last year in hopes it would help keep the community going.
But Blue Ridge Rehab Center and Blue Ridge Manor are now under receivership, although court filings indicate multiple parties are trying to keep the community open, according to local reports. By the time the lease was terminated, operators owed basic rent of $5.6 million and were delinquent in property taxes of more than $211,000, the Martinsville Bulletin reported.
Another court hearing is scheduled for Friday, when the receivership will expire. For its part, the director of the Virginia Department of Social Services Division of Licensure said in June it supported emergency appointment of a receiver for the Blue Ridge Manor Assisted Living Facility and an application for a license for a new operator by June 28.
“VDSS believes that it is in the best interests of health, safety and welfare of the residents of Blue Ridge Manor for the parties to have a plan that comports with Virginia law and allows the residents to remain … thereby avoiding the potential mental, physical, and emotional trauma of moving the residents to another facility,” wrote Tara Ragland, the Martinsville Bulletin reported.
As Oswald left Blue Ridge last year, he told McKnight’s he had received several job offers and an outpouring of support. But he wasn’t sure he would, or could, stay in long-term care.
“It’s not easy, caring for residents 24/7 with all of the obstacles, both financial and otherwise,” he noted. “It’s a daily battle but a rewarding one.”
