Ellis Residential & Rehabilitation Center

Ellis Residential & Rehabilitation Center, also called Ellis ERRC, sits on an 18-acre campus in Schenectady, with most services and residents housed at 600 McClellan Street, though it's been operating since 1989 when it first opened as St. Clare's Hospital, and over the years it's become a part of Ellis Medicine and has offered both long-term nursing home care and short-term rehabilitation, with 82 beds in the skilled nursing facility and in addition, there's a separate 16-bed rehab unit with a well-equipped therapy room for physical, occupational, and speech therapies, and even things like IV therapy, wound care, and medication adjustments happen here, but lately, they've had about 48 patients and 73 staff members in the nursing home, with most of the large campus--295,000 square feet--remaining empty and unused, so for two years, Ellis Medicine's been trying to make things work, but losing about $5 million each year and finding the campus 80 percent vacant, they decided to close in the coming months under guidance from the New York State Department of Health, and they're making a plan for all employees to move to other jobs within the organization, while for residents they're taking care to help everyone find a new home, making sure the transition is at a pace that's right for each person, giving new facilities what they need-medical records, care plans, and such-and even arranging transportation as needed, so families don't have to worry about the small details, and they're working with outside nursing homes, community groups, and the Department of Health for discharge and case management while keeping a focus on the needs of current residents, plus trying to sell the campus to a developer and talking with outside parties about repurposing the property after everyone moves out, and even as they've recently moved some Ellis services from the McClellan campus to Ellis Hospital and Bellevue Woman's Center, the Belanger School of Nursing and a family care practice have stayed as tenants there, still providing primary care at that site, and the center itself has a cafeteria called the McClelland Cafeteria, a Cyber Cafe, a hair salon, a rooftop garden, an outdoor courtyard and gazebo, rooms for respite care, family rooms, spaces for therapy and dining, and more private rooms set up in neighborhoods with soft colors and lighting, plus an interfaith sanctuary for services, all overseen by a licensed administrator, with care delivered by doctors-including internal medicine and psychiatry specialists-and with wound care from the Ellis Medicine Wound Care Center, and everything's done in English, and the staff works to respect each resident's dignity, independence, and quality of life with 24/7 nursing available, tight partnership with Ellis Medicine's full services like the recognized Stroke Center, cardiac and emergency care, and for patients who need a "stepping stone" between hospital and home, they offer short-term sub acute rehab stays too, but right now they're not taking new patients since the closure plan is well underway and their priority is making sure the remaining residents and staff have all the help and support they need every step until things wind down.