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 pirateoftheguyan
Location: Huntington, WV
Gender: Male
 |  | Morris Memorial Nursing Home closes its doors (Milton, WV)
< on 2/11/2009 5:47 AM >
|  | | | Morris Memorial Nursing Home closes its doors
Missy Oldaker
Staff writer
In 1936 the cornerstone for Morris Memorial Hospital was laid and now, more than 70 years later, the hospital that once cared for children with polio and most recently acted as a nursing home has closed its doors for good.
MILTON - In 1936 the cornerstone for Morris Memorial Hospital was laid and now, more than 70 years later, the hospital that once cared for children with polio and most recently acted as a nursing home has closed its doors for good.
Nancy Mills, admissions coordinator for Morris Memorial Nursing Home, said the closing of the facility means much more than a lay off to her and many of the other employees.
She said the nursing home was established in 1961, when her stepfather, John Greene, was the administrator.
Mills remembered that her stepfather had a great passion for the nursing home and that passion was passed on to Mills and her mother, Rose Greene, who became the administrator after John Greene passed away.
"Mr. Greene put a lot of his own money into refurbishing Morris Memorial, which had been left vacant for several years," Mills said. "He was so compassionate that he took residents in rent free at times, including retired employees who became incapacitated. As patient numbers declined, he refused many a pay check to assure his employees were paid and that his patients were cared for."
Mills said those values that the nursing home was founded by were still in use when the doors closed the last time.
"We were all like a family there," she said. "Our employees and our residents made it feel like a home. Even at the end, my mother was looking after everyone; she made sure they knew how to get unemployment, she helped some find new jobs and she made sure the residents were going to be well taken care of."
Mills said the nursing home was forced to close because of high energy costs and declining patient numbers.
She said 17 patients were in the care of Morris Memorial when it was decided it would cease operation and each of those patients were relocated to other facilities in the area.
Betty Sargent, mayor of Milton, said she is saddened to see the doors close on the beautiful building that has become a part of Milton's history.
She said the city gained ownership of the property in the early 1960s and has leased the building to the nursing home operators since then.
Mills said Morris Memorial Nursing Home's current lease ends June 30, but due to a lack of funds they have closed the facility and can no longer pay rent and utilities for the property.
She said Mayor Sargent and other city officials presented a letter stating that the nursing home would be responsible for the remainder of the lease and rent and utilities should continue to be paid.
"I don't know how the city expects us to pay them," Mills said. "We don't have any money and that is why we had to close. When it comes to the mayor and the council they have no compassion."
Sargent said she, along with the majority of council, did present a letter stating the facts of the lease to Rose Greene, the nursing home's administrator, but she said that does not change the fact that both she and the council are saddened the legacy of Morris Memorial has come to an end.
"I truly believe that myself as well as the entire city council are very sad that Morris Memorial had to close, even though they had been cutting back considerably for quite a few years," she said. "However, the letter that was delivered to Mrs. Greene that was prepared by the city's legal counsel in the presence of myself and the majority of the Milton City Council when we took the tour of the facility merely stated the facts of the current lease signed by Mrs. Greene. That lease was arranged, agreed upon and approved by the city council to continue through June 30; it was not prepared on a month-to-month basis."
The nursing home's operator, Diversicare Management Services, has proposed the construction of a new facility to be built just over one mile east of Morris Memorial Nursing Home. They have also proposed that the new facility be named Rose Terrace to honor Rose Greene and her decades of commitment.
The old hospital it about midway between Huntington and Charleston, Wv.
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