Hope-Wymore General Manager Responds To Closing Oct. 1

By Gordon HopkinsGinger Hughes, General Manager for Hope-Wymore, has opened up about the imminent closure of the assisted living facility.Hope-Wymore Assisted Living will be closing its doors October 1, 2024. There are currently 32 residents at Hope-Wymore that will need to be relocated. Eleven will be transferred to a facility in Plattsmouth, Hope Cooperative Care. Hughes explained the relationship between the two facilities via email, “Hope-Wymore is not owned by Hope Cooperative Care in Plattsmouth. They share owners but are separate businesses and operate under separate licenses.”As for the others, Hughes indicated every resident will be relocated, “Hope-Wymore is following all guidelines and procedures outlined to us by DHHS (Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services) in the closing process. Every single resident living at Hope Wymore is being assisted in finding placement. Most of this work is being done by our staff. There have been two DHHS staff assigned to help a couple of the residents in finding placement. Our staff has done an excellent job in helping each resident find a placement that suits them. While some residents at Hope Wymore have guardians, it would likely surprise many to know that the majority of them do NOT have a legal guardian and are their own decision maker.”DHHSAs to the reason for the closure, according to Jeff Powell, Director Of Communications for DHHS, “The facility is voluntarily closing. They are not closing due to any orders by DHHS.”Hughes cited a number of reasons for the closure, and difficulties dealing with DHHS was one. “DHHS regulations that operate in a grey area (their words not mine) it should be noted that there is not a separate set of regulations when operating an Assisted Living for the elderly vs. the mentally ill,” said Hughes. “Hope-Wymore does not cater to individuals with behavioral issues. Hope-Wymore caters to individuals with mental health diagnosis that are in need of medication administration and basic shelter to include meals. All mentally ill individuals do not have behavioral issues.”Hughes blamed, “Oversight agencies such as DHHS and APS (Adult Protective Services) that operate under loose guidelines and without any clear boundaries regarding actions taken against facilities and providers.” Hughes said, “When more than one of these issues present themselves in a situation at the same time, it complicates the ability to manage a business that provides care for an underserved population. The story here is that Hope Wymore does not WANT to close. We are very aware that we provide a HOME for the individuals we serve. We are not advocates for taking away someone’s HOME. There is very little accountability shown by the aforementioned agencies.” FJN reached out to DHHS for a response. As of press time, no response was received.Community LeadersHughes said there was a lack of support from the community leaders, as well as a “Lack of support and understanding of the population we serve,” including Emergency Medical Services (MS), law enforcement and “Beatrice Community Hospital and their affiliates.”At a meeting of the Wymore City Council Wednesday evening, September 4, 2024, Wymore Fire Chief Mark Meintz told the council, “Then there’s some state funding they were receiving.”Hughes disputed this, “Hope-Wymore does not receive state or federal funding. All of our residents pay for their stay privately and some receive state assistance if they qualify.”Hughes said, “Not one of the individuals in the city council has reached out to us for these answers.”Dwindling Resources Hughes pointed out that Hope-Wymore, like many other assisted living facilities, is having to work with fewer and fewer resources, especially those in rural areas, “There are thousands of people living in the state of Nebraska that either suffer from mental illness or have family that suffer from mental illness. The cumbersome and frustrating process each of these individuals have to navigate on a daily basis to simply get help is unnecessary and heartbreaking. To be suffering from something so difficult and hit a brick wall at every turn when trying to do nothing more than get help for yourself or your family is only compounding the issues that accompany this diagnosis. The statement that there is a mental health crisis in America is broad but true. The mental health crisis does not discriminate based on where in America you are. As demonstrated time and time again, there is a crisis in the smallest of towns to the largest all across the nation. Mental health is not going away. However, the resources to manage it are dwindling at a frightening pace.”Hughes added, “How do we continue to help this population going forward? It is a question that needs to be asked and answered by so many more people than are currently asking or answering it.”

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