Staff, residents, owners heartbroken over closing

    EARLING -- It’s been a difficult 14 days for the residents, families, employees and owners of the longtime nursing home - the Little Flower Haven. An integral part of the Earling and Shelby County communities for 55 years, as a prominent caregiver for 1,000’s of former residents and a community booster dating back to its opening in 1964, is closing.
    Administrator and 30-year employee, Pat Hoffmann, who worked at the 55-bed retirement center as a teen, and joined the family business following college, told residents, guests and employees on Wed., Oct. 9 their family had to close this integral part of their lives and hearts due to continuing financial concerns.
    Hoffmann explained that they have labored and worried for several years over the financial future of their caring business. They’ve hired consultants and run feasibility studies on how they could allow the company to continue, but the studies and statistics all came back the same - the future would not get any brighter, only worse. Medicaid and Medicare funding does not cover the costs of care and when a nursing home has a preponderance of those residents -- it’s a no-win situation.