EDMONDS – The Edmonds Retirement Inn will close April 30, forcing 54 residents to find new homes and 20 employees to look for work.
Extendicare Health Facilities of Milwaukee, Wis., will not renew its lease on the 40-year-old assisted-living facility at 21500 72nd Ave. W., confirmed Laurie Bebo, president of Assisted Living Concepts, a subsidiary of Extendicare.
The building is owned by Kavatech, said Josh Williams, administrator for the Edmonds Retirement Inn. A company spokesman was not reached for comment.
Extendicare’s Aldercrest Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, which is located next door to the assisted living facility, is not affected by the lease agreement.
Residents and their families learned about the closure in a meeting March 30, Williams said. Families were concerned and upset to learn residents have 30 days to leave the facility, he said.
Extendicare, a placement firm hired by Extendicare and officials with the Home and Community Services division of the state Department of Social and Health Services will work with area facilities to place residents in new homes, Williams said.
Julie Lord, regional administrator for Residential Care Services within the state agency, said Extendicare soon will submit to the state its plan for placing residents in new homes. The plan, which must follow Washington state code, must be reviewed and approved by the state before residents can be moved.
“Everyone’s interest is that the residents have a smooth transition into their new homes,” Lord said.
About half of the residents are Medicaid recipients, which makes it more challenging to find homes for them, as options are limited, Williams said.
He said a job fair for employees will be scheduled at the center. Other facilities “have been fabulous” about trying to find jobs for displaced staff, he said.
Enterprise writer Sue Waldburger: 425-673-6525 or swaldburger@heraldnet.com.
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