Yesterday we had to evacuate and transfer 17 Loyalton skilled nursing patients to our Portola facility and 4 patients were sent home to their families. The patients transferred to Portola are in the acute wing as well as the library and Anne’s room in the SNF. This action was necessary because our two boilers were failing and we were worried that we would lose necessary heating for the facility.
We are currently in the process of repairing and rebuilding one of the boilers and renting a forced air heat solution for backup in case the boilers fail again. We are hopeful this temporary solution will be complete by the end of this week at which time we can transfer all patients back. The longer term solution is to replace the two boilers at the facility but this will take at least 6 months to a year because of all the permits we need to get from the State. We are also looking at available funding to finance this project which will likely exceed $300,000.
There have been some rumors going around this morning that we intend to close the Loyalton facility because of these issues. This rumor is false. The transfer of patients to Portola and home was necessary to make sure they were protected from the potential disruption of heat.
We will keep you posted during the week to let know how we are progressing. Please don’t hesitate to contact us directly if you have any questions or hear rumors you want clarified. Thanks for your understanding.
Contact Linda Satchwell, PR Coordinator
Lsatchwell@ephc.org
530.832.6597