April 6, 2018 at 1:53 p.m.
NURSING HOME
Final days for Little Sisters at Our Lady of Hope, Latham
The Little Sisters had announced last fall that they would be withdrawing from the residence due to a lack of sisters available to staff it. The religious order is also leaving facilities in Ohio and Indiana because of the decrease in vocations. Sisters who served in the Albany Diocese are being reassigned elsewhere on the East Coast.
Our Lady of Hope was built for 200 residents.
"We just don't have enough sisters to have all of our homes running," said Sister Genevieve Nugent, superior. That the order will no longer have a presence in the Diocese is "the saddest part. We're torn inside. It's very hard to do this. I guess, in a sense, we appreciate our vocation more" now.
Sister Genevieve estimates that thousands of people have lived at Our Lady of Hope, which opened in 1976 after other Little Sisters of the Poor homes in Albany and Troy closed. In total, the order served the Diocese with affordable care for low-income seniors for 142 years.
No Catholic organization stepped up to buy the property, which also includes a three-floor independent-living apartment building, but a management company and a housing development company with a similar commitment to affordable housing has bought the property.
Those companies are planning to turn the skilled nursing portion of the building into more senior apartments, bringing the total number of units to 124 by next year.
About 25 current apartment residents have chosen to stay under the new management. Richard Dowd, 79, is one.
"We're going to be losing a lot," he said, noting that the sisters cooked meals and provided activities, and there was a Catholic chapel open 24 hours a day. "We're all very sad that they're leaving. It's a whole different world here. We were safe and they took good care of us."
Some nursing home residents transferred to other Little Sisters of the Poor facilities. Most have moved to Teresian House in Albany, which is run by the Carmelite Sisters for the Aged and Infirm, or The Eddy of St. Peter's Health Partners. Everyone got their first choice.
"They've all gone to good places," Sister Genevieve said. "They're all OK. We hope people will stay in touch with us with the website. Sometimes we've had generations of residents."
The Little Sisters of the Poor will host its annual gala Aug. 11 at 6 p.m. at the Hall of Springs in Saratoga Springs. "We still have a lot of bills and our income has gone down," Sister Genevieve explained.
A Mass of Thanksgiving will be celebrated by Bishop Edward B. Scharfenbeger Aug. 19 at 4 p.m. at St. Ambrose parish in Latham.
"We want anybody who has been a part of the project to feel invited," Sister Genevieve said.
She predicts that more homes in the U.S. run by the Little Sisters might close, but she isn't giving up hope on vocations: "We've got some nice novices."
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