Another Home For The Elderly Bites The Dust; Aging Building In Constant Need Of Repair, Budget Restrictions, Competition w/ Newer Facilities Lead To Displacement For About A Dozen Residents, Job Loss For A Dozen More

In Roxbury, New York, The Daily Star reports:

• The Kirkside Retirement Home in Roxbury is closing April 14, according to board president Thomas Hynes.
  
  The closure has been announced to residents and staff, according to a letter from the board. The adult home has 11 residents and about 12 employees, Hynes said Thursday [March 1], and the pending closure has prompted tears by residents, employees and board members.
  
  “It couldn’t be sadder,” Hynes said Thursday. He said reasons leading to the closure included more retirees staying at home longer, changes in the health care field and Kirkside’s challenges in meeting its annual budget of more than $200,000.
  
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  The Kirkside building was constructed in the late 19th century, according to the facility’s website. [...] Directors said the building “always is in need of repair and updating, fuel costs are high, and we simply can no longer compete with new and more comprehensive care facilities.”
  
  Hynes said the state Department of Health has approved Kirkside’s closure plans. Kirkside, for many, had become home after leaving other residences before moving into a nursing home, he said.
  
  “This is a sad event for everyone involved,” the letter said. “The facility has always operated on a very low budget, and the past five years have been particularly difficult, despite the wonderfully generous support of our community, the state of NY, the O’Connor Foundation, and many other agencies.”
  
  Directors said they worked “very hard to avoid closure” since realizing six years ago that there were “serious difficulties staying afloat.”
  
  “Facilities like Kirkside are less popular than they once were,” the directors said. “In a way, places like Kirkside have gone the way of the large vacation hotels that once were thriving right here in our own area.”

Source: Roxbury nursing home to close in April.