Four nursing homes in Pittsburgh barely avoided closure after an agreement was reached on Monday to sell the properties to New York-based WeCare Center, which operates 10 facilities between the two states.

The sale was approved by a bankruptcy court judge after an agreement was reached between creditors and the federal government, according to a report from the Post-Gazette. Prior owner South Hills Operations is undergoing Chapter 11 bankruptcy and the sale is part of financial reorganization.

The news follows nursing home closures and bankruptcies in the state. Residents at Mountain View Care and Rehabilitation Center were relocated after its closure. Also, LaVie Care Centers, which has nine facilities in the state, filed for Chap. 11 in the last couple months.

South Hills’ predicament is similar to what happened with Comprehensive Healthcare in September 2023, also in Pennsylvania. The operator at the time said it would be forced to close unless it was able to sell seven of its nursing homes to Kadima Healthcare Group. This sale was allowed to proceed as well after the Department of Labor (DOL) failed to secure a preliminary injunction against Comprehensive following a pending case related to back wages and overtime.

With South Hills, another bankruptcy court hearing was scheduled for July 15 to assume SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania labor agreements for the nursing home employees, new contracts with Cigna Health & Life Insurance and AmeriHealth Caritas Health Plan, along with limits on potential Department of Labor claims for back wages.

A lawsuit filed in 2018 alleged workers at South Hills were routinely denied overtime pay for years, the Gazette reported. About 6,000 workers are owed $20 million in back pay and facilities are liable for $20 million in liquid damages, according to the lawsuit. A final ruling on the case is expected in August.

Facilities involved in the sale, a combined 464 beds, are Monroeville Rehabilitation and Wellness Center, Mt. Lebanon Rehabilitation and Wellness Center, Murrysville Rehabilitation and Wellness Center and South Hills Rehabilitation and Wellness Center.

While terms of the sale weren’t disclosed South Hills said it had no other buyers and the facilities would have closed if the sale to WeCare wasn’t approved. The facilities are controlled by Fort Smith, Ark.-based real estate investment trust (REIT) Cuarzo Healthcare Capital.