Boulder's Golden West to close assisted living community

Jan. 7—Boulder's Golden West, which has provided assisted living housing for low-income seniors for more than 30 years, is closing its assisted living community on March 4.

The 33 residents, their families and staff members of The Mezzanine were notified of the closure on Wednesday, according to a written statement from Golden West, and will receive assistance as they look for new housing and jobs over the next 60 days. Golden West's The Towers independent living community, with 253 apartments, will remain open.

Golden West Interim CEO John Torres, said in a written statement that financial pressures prompted the decision by Golden West's board of directors.

"Sadly, it is clear to us that we will not be able to meet the obligations to our assisted living residents and staff in the current financial environment," he wrote.

Golden West, which is a nonprofit and is located at 1055 Adams Circle, has provided affordable housing for middle- and low-income older adults since 1965.

The Mezzanine at Golden West opened in 1988 as one of four pilot projects financed by the Colorado Housing Finance Authority to provide assisted living to low-income seniors. In 1995, Golden West was certified by the Colorado Department of Health and Environment to accept Medicaid payment for services to eligible seniors.

Since then, according to Torres, Golden West served a mix of private pay and Medicaid-only residents, relying on private pay residents to help offset low Medicaid reimbursement to cover the actual costs of providing assisted living care.

The Mezzanine assisted living community operated on a very thin margin, buoyed by those private pay residents and the financial strength of The Towers independent living community, he said in the statement.

He added occupancy in assisted living has dropped, with Golden West starting a major renovation project at about the same time as the start of the pandemic. While independent living community occupancy has returned to pre-pandemic levels, assisted living hasn't, and is operating "well below budget."

Adding to the occupancy challenges, he wrote, is that there's more competition for private pay seniors from newer, larger senior living apartments. Inflation, combined with only small increases to the Medicaid reimbursement rate, have further strained the budget to operate the assisted living community, he wrote.

Plus, he wrote, the cost for staffing — the largest expense for assisted living — rose dramatically over the past several years, increasing the gap between what Golden West receives from Medicaid and what is needed to recruit and train staff members.

"We believe strongly that we have an obligation to the health and wellness of our staff and that includes being able to pay a livable wage," he wrote. "This has been a painful and difficult decision, and we are committed to helping our residents and staff through this transition in every way possible."

According to the written statement, Golden West's board of directors is still exploring options to repurpose the Mezzanine property.

With Golden West's assisted living closure, only three of the 28 assisted living centers in Boulder County still accept Medicaid, Boulder County Community Services Elder Rights program manager Erica Corson said.

Generally, she said, assisted living providers are reporting that Medicaid reimbursements increasingly are too low to cover the cost. Another three assisted living centers that accepted Medicaid closed last year in Boulder County, officials said.

"Golden West is a devastating close, but it's not the first one that's closed in Boulder County in the last year," Corson said. "What we're hearing is it is not sustainable to provide assisted living with the rates that Medicaid pays. We have seen this across the board."

She said the county's Long Term Care Ombudsman program can provide education and resources to residents and make sure centers are following regulations, but can't directly find placements. With so few assisted living centers accepting Medicaid, she said, the displaced residents may need to look outside Boulder County or switch to a nursing home, which provides a higher level of care but less independence.

"People who are now going to need to find someplace will probably not have a lot of choice in Boulder County," she said. "With so few places, it limits people's choices in how they age."

Mark Gittes, whose 83-year-old mother lives in the independent apartments at Golden West, said he was shocked that the assisted living section is closing in just 60 days. Though he said his mom loves living there, she chose it thinking she could move to assisted living if needed as she ages.

"That's really going to be something we need to think about, whether she should be there or not," he said. "I thought this would be the place."

He added one of his mom's friends in assisted living has lived there for 20 years, while others have shared how worried they are about finding somewhere else.

"You really are asking people to leave their friends and their community," he said.