Bucks County specialized respiratory care facility officially closes

HARRISBURG, Pa (May 16, 2021) –– After publicly announcing plans to close Fox Subacute at Warrington on March 31, Fox Subacute officially shuttered the facility’s doors 45 days after the announcement on May 15. Management at Fox Subacute tirelessly worked to successfully transition all residents to other facilities for continued care even with an ongoing access to care crisis in Pennsylvania.

The lack of available beds in Pennsylvania for specialized respiratory care made the search to relocate residents difficult. As the only Pennsylvania provider solely specializing in post-acute ventilator care, Fox Subacute transitioned 35 of the facility’s 46 residents to other Fox Subacute facilities. Fox Subacute also helped to transition staff to other facilities.

Fox Subacute serves patients dependent on life-sustaining ventilators for short and long-term care services. Nearly 100% of all care that was provided at Fox Subacute at Warrington was paid for by the state’s Medicaid program, but Pennsylvania’s Medicaid reimbursement rate for skilled nursing facilities has historically failed to keep pace with the actual cost of care. After years without an increase, the state’s General Assembly enacted legislation in 2021 to allocate an additional $2 million for all post-acute care ventilator providers to help with rising costs. That additional funding helped Fox Subacute keep their Warrington facility open through 2021, but rising supply costs and price gouging from agencies when hiring staff to fill open shifts amid a workforce crisis forced financial peril, prohibiting continued operations.

The Pennsylvania Health Care Association (PHCA) is advocating for Pennsylvania’s state budget to include a Medicaid increase that will help providers increase wages for workers, recruit more workers to the front lines and invest back into their facilities and operations to advance resident care.

Prior to the closure of Fox Subacute at Warrington, Pennsylvania had a net loss of 11 nursing facilities in the state since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Mercy Center in Dallas, PA, recently announced its plan to close in three months.