Hundreds of Maine seniors' home care at risk with closure of Farmingdale nonprofit - Kennebec Journal & Morning Sentinel

FARMINGDALE — The care of 582 patients hangs in the balance following the announcement that Home Care for Maine, a Farmingdale-based nonprofit that provides in-home care for elderly people statewide, will be closing April 30.

The nonprofit’s attorney Newell Augur told the Kennebec Journal on Monday that the nonprofit has been hurt by low reimbursement rates from MaineCare, which often causes the company to lose 40 to 50 cents for every hour of service it provides. He said the rising minimum wage has also compounded the fiscal issues, as well as expansions of background checks and fingerprinting added to the nonprofit’s costs.

“The minimum wage has gone up and there’s been no increase in the Maine Care reimbursement rate,” Augur said. “We’re trying to pay (our employees) a little more than (the minimum wage). We ought to be paying them more than that, but we’re losing money for each hour of service we provide at this rate.”

He called the company’s closure a “crisis” for its patients, who come from each of the state’s 16 counties. Augur said it might be difficult to find agencies to take on those clients, especially in more rural areas of the state.

He said the company is working to help find new jobs for its 365 employees, which will likely be able to find new jobs because there is a workforce shortage in the home-care industry.

“We’re working very hard so that our employees all land on their feet with other agencies and that our consumers are transition,” Augur said. “Given the workforce shortage, our hope … is that our workers are going to be able to find work if they want it.”

SeniorsPlus president Betsy Sawyer-Manter, who said her company is one of two service coordination agencies in the State that help elderly people find the right service provider for them, said the loss of Home Care of Maine is a “huge loss to the industry.”

“It’s a huge loss to the state of Maine because they’re a reputable, well-run company,” she said. “In particular, it’s a huge loss to … people who are potentially losing that resource.”

Sawyer-Manter said her company provided 460 clients to Home Care of Maine and helps 4,400 find services statewide. Among the agencies they provide clients to, Sawyer-Manter said there are 10,000 unfilled hours each week of in-home care.