Miller’s Health Systems, Highgate/Aurora Extend Negotiations on Lease Transfer of Nursing Home Portfolio

Warsaw, Indiana-based Miller’s Health Systems will continue to operate skilled nursing facilities owned by Highgate Capital Investments/Aurora Health Network for the foreseeable future, as the deadline to transfer or renew lease agreements has been extended.

It’s unclear exactly how long that extension will be, as first reported by local news source WANE15.

Miller’s has been in talks with Highgate Capital Investments/Aurora Health Network, which owns the facilities, concerning a new or transferred lease agreement, Miller’s CEO Patrick Boyle said in a statement on Thursday.

The company originally announced in May that it would step away from leases on eight Miller’s Merry Manor locations in the state, with the termination of current leases effective June 30 and a new operator taking over July 1.

That’s according to WARN notices sent to the Indiana Department of Workforce Development, although letters obtained by WANE15 showed that the number of properties in the same situation was closer to 19.

Highgate Capital Investments/Aurora Health Network is expected to make its final decision in the next couple weeks, Boyle added.

“The July 1st deadline for the landlord to make a new lease with Miller’s or another operator will be pushed back as negotiations continue, and the employees of the facility will continue on with their day-to-day operations as usual,” Boyle said in the statement.

Neither Miller’s Health Systems nor Highgate/Aurora responded to further inquiries from Skilled Nursing News on Friday.

Miller’s Health Systems has been a staple in the Indiana long-term care space since 1964 and continues to operate a handful of nursing homes across the state as well as operating a therapy company and having a partnership in a home health care company.

Nearly 700 workers would no longer be employed by the company, Miller’s said in its notices to the state.

Boyle indicated in the company’s statement that Highgate Capital Investments/Aurora Health Network would likely hire Miller’s employees back to work in the facilities.

In Feb. 2022, Highgate and Aurora closed on a $3.2 billion deal to acquire the wellness infrastructure portfolio of DigitalBridge (NYSE: DBRG), formerly known as Colony Capital. That portfolio included 83 SNFs and other health care assets.