Guardian Healthcare files for Bankruptcy
On Monday, Guardian Elder Care at Johnstown, LLC d/b/a Richland Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center and certain affiliated entities filed voluntary petitions for relief under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania.
Nineteen of skilled nursing facilities were included in the Chapter 11 filing. They are Guardian Elder Care at Clarion, Hastings, Warren, Johnstown, Oil City, Shippenville, Titusville, Uniontown, Erie II, Waynesburg, Lewistown, Beaver Falls,lower Burrell, Munhall, Fairmont, Monongahela, Bethel Park, Greensburg and Brockway.
All of the facilities remain open and focused on delivering quality care, ensuring the health and safety of residents, and assisting families.
Strong industry headwinds in recent years caused financial challenges for many skilled nursing providers, including Guardian Healthcare. Factors that led to this action include lingering effects of COVID, labor shortages, rising wage inflation, increased reliance on high-cost agency labor, inadequate Medicaid reimbursement and mounting provider assessments in Pennsylvania. Facing these economic realities, Guardian Healthcare took steps to restore the organization to financial stability. Despite its best efforts, rapidly increasing inflation and rising labor costs beginning in 2022 limited the ability to restructure successfully.
It was determined that a voluntary petition for relief under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code was the best option to address outstanding liabilities, successfully transfer operations and maintain quality care for residents at all facilities.
As part of its courtsupervised process, Guardian anticipates seeking Bankruptcy Court approval of the sale of eight of its owned skilled nursing facilities, with a purchaser serving as the “stalking horse bidder” for such facilities and their related operations. In addition, Guardian is pursuing a transaction to effectuate the transfer of operations of its leased skilled nursing facilities to a new operator. This transaction, once finalized, will also be subject to Bankruptcy Court approval.
They remain committed to working with all parties in interest to ensure a smooth transition of operations for all of the facilities and a positive resolution.
They will keep stakeholders, including the community members informed throughout this process. Court filings and other information related to the court-supervised proceedings will be available on a separate website administered by the claims agent, Omni Management Group, at omniagentsolutions. com.