Island Nursing Home leaders ask towns for emergency funding as restart plans remain unclear

Island Nursing Home (INH) board representatives told the Stonington Selectmen they are seeking town support to restart the facility as a residential-care operation after staffing and funding shortfalls left the facility at risk.

At the Nov. 21 and later meetings, Skip Greenlaw and Leon Weed told the Selectmen INH faces a multi‑hundred‑thousand‑dollar shortfall and that $100,000 from the towns was being requested to restart res‑care operations. The board discussed a reported $500,000 deficit and questioned whether that figure reflected recent inflation and updated costs. Greenlaw said the petition to reopen had been driven in part by community requests to restore local care capacity, and INH asked to meet with the towns on housing and staffing supports to make resumption viable.

Town Manager Billings told the Selectmen she would need more concrete financial documentation before advancing any funding request. She said a town‑meeting article would be required to authorize municipal funding: “If the towns are asked to contribute, it must be placed on the warrant,” TM Billings said when outlining the procedural steps the board would need to follow.

Selectmen pressed INH for clearer numbers. At an Aug. 22 meeting Skip said the facility would need up to $700,000 to keep beds open and that INH was seeking housing solutions for staff; Selectmen responded by requesting up‑to‑date financial statements and a plan showing how town funds would be used and whether the shortfall was recurring. The board did not commit to funding and repeatedly requested documentation and a formal petition to place any appropriation before voters.

The town also discussed related community planning: several Selectmen referenced regional efforts on housing and the Peninsular meeting schedule as places to coordinate solutions for workforce housing that INH and other island employers need.

Next steps: INH representatives were invited to provide detailed financials and a formal town‑meeting petition if they wish to pursue municipal funding. The Selectmen said they would consider the request only with full supporting documentation and a vote by residents at a posted town meeting.