Court Appoints Receiver for 33 Atrium Health and Senior Living Properties [Updated]

Atrium Health and Senior Living announced late on Friday it had reached an agreement to have a receiver appointed for 33 skilled nursing and assisted living properties in Wisconsin and Michigan.

The news was first reported by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

The Circuit Court of Wood County appointed Michael Polsky of Beck, Chaet, Bamberger & Polsky in Milwaukee as the receiver.

The receivership action will enable the nursing homes and assisted living communities to continue operating and ensure that residents receive uninterrupted care.

“Our main focus at this time is to stabilize the company and ensure that residents continue to receive seamless quality care in the centers from the staff they have come to know,” Polsky said in a statement to the Journal Sentinel. “This plan also helps ensure that all payroll and benefits are provided to employees and that vendors are paid for ongoing services on a timely basis.”

Polsky has hired Health Dimensions Consulting Inc., which does business as Health Dimensions Group, as an operations consultant during the receivership.

Polsky isn’t new to these arrangements: Last year, he was appointed the receiver for Fortis Management Group, which operated 60 skilled nursing and five assisted and independent living facilities spread across Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota, Oregon, Idaho, and Washington.

Based in Little Falls, N.J., Atrium operates 44 post-acute and senior living facilities, with the majority located in the Midwest. The company serves about 3,400 residents and patients across those buildings.

The facilities included in the receivership are 23 SNFs in Wisconsin and one in Michigan, as well as nine assisted living facilities in Wisconsin. According to Atrium’s website, the company operates nine skilled nursing facilities and three assisted living communities in New Jersey. Atrium’s New Jersey locations are not involved in the receivership, however, Health Dimensions Group CEO Erin Hennessey told Skilled Nursing News.

“The goal is to stabilize the operations and to ensure that residents and staff receive what they need,” Hennessey said. “What it looks like is that we would be managing these communities, day to day operations, helping staff, residents and employees in any way that we can to ensure that care continues just as the residents are used to. So there won’t be any interruptions to care.”

Because Health Dimensions Group was not involved prior to the filing of the receivership on Friday, it could not comment on the financial and operational performance prior to that point, Hennessey said. While there are no plans at present to convert any of the facilities from one use to another or increase or decrease the portfolio, Health Dimensions Group is currently assessing the operations at the affected communities and will be meeting with Atrium on Tuesday and Wednesday to get further details.

Skilled Nursing News reached out to Polsky and MidCap Financial, which last week filed a complaint against Atrium according to the Stevens Point Journal; there was no response as of press time.

Written by John Yedinak with additional reporting by Maggie Flynn.

This story has been updated to include comments from Health Dimensions Group.