Three Nursing Home Closures in Chautauqua County; One Was Failing the Federal Floor His Vote Blocked

Healthcare Source: Post-Journal, Observer Today, Buffalo News, ProPublica Nursing Home Inspect, CMS Care Compare, clerk.house.gov DOCUMENTED PATTERN

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Why This Matters for NY-23

Between November 2023 and January 2026, three skilled nursing facilities have closed or announced closure in Chautauqua County. Two of those closures fall inside the OBBBA window. One of the closing facilities — Heritage Village in Gerry — was operating below the federal RN staffing floor that Section 71111 of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act blocked from enforcement until 2034. Rep. Langworthy voted YES on the bill containing Section 71111, and has made no public statement on any of the three closures.

This page documents what the public records show about each facility’s pre-closure staffing record, the timing relative to the §71111 moratorium, and what Langworthy did and did not say in response.

The Three Closures

Lutheran Social Services of Upstate NY — Jamestown Nursing Home and Rehab (closed January 2024)

Closure announced November 2023; final closure by January 2, 2024. 49 residents displaced, 106 staff affected. Operator cited Medicaid reimbursement, 65% county-wide nursing-home occupancy, and workforce shortage. This closure pre-dates the §71111 moratorium and is included for cluster context. Source: Post-Journal, “Lutheran to close nursing home, rehab program” (Nov. 2023).

Absolut Care of Westfield (closed October 2025)

DOH closure plan approved June 2025; facility closed on or about October 20, 2025. 66 residents displaced; 113 jobs lost. Operator: McGuire Group. Stated cause: lease negotiations with the landlord ended without agreement. CMS Provider Information (CCN 335683):

MetricAbsolut Care of WestfieldFederal §71111-blocked floor
CMS overall star rating1 of 5 stars—
RN hours per resident per day~0.70.55 (cleared)
Total nurse hours per resident per day~3.53.48 (essentially at the floor)
Recent inspection deficiencies19 deficiencies, 7 complaints—
Specific findingsfailure to develop abuse/neglect policies; failure to timely report suspected abuse; infection-control violations—
Civil monetary penalties (last 3 years)None—

The headline RN number cleared the federal floor; the 1-star overall rating and abuse-protocol deficiencies sat well below sector averages. The proximate cause of closure was a landlord dispute, not staffing — but the facility was marginal on every other CMS quality metric. Sources: Buffalo News, “Westfield Absolut Care announces plans to close” (Aug. 2025); ProPublica Nursing Home Inspect, CCN 335683; NY DOH Profiles.

Heritage Village in Gerry (closing announced January 2026)

Closure announcement: January 28, 2026. Roughly <40 residents in a ~100-capacity facility at time of announcement. Operator: Heritage Ministries. Stated cause: financial / operational difficulty, post-COVID census decline, Medicaid reimbursement. CMS Provider Information (CCN 335353):

MetricHeritage Village (Gerry)Federal §71111-blocked floor
CMS overall star rating3 of 5 stars—
Staffing sub-rating1 of 5 stars—
RN hours per resident per day~0.50.55 (below)
Total nurse hours per resident per day~2.7 – 3.253.48 (below)
Recent inspection deficiencies15 deficiencies across last three inspections; 8 in August 2024 alone—
Specific findingsinadequate nursing staff; abuse/neglect protections; recurring “failure to have RN 8 hours/day” finding—
Nurse turnover58.9%NY state average 40.3%
Civil monetary penalties (last 3 years)None—

Heritage Village would have failed the federal RN floor that §71111 blocked from enforcement. Sources: Post-Journal, “Heritage Village closing as Heritage consolidates skilled nursing services” (Jan. 2026); ProPublica Nursing Home Inspect, CCN 335353.

The Vote and the Timeline

Roll Call 190 — July 3, 2025. Langworthy voted YES on H.R. 1, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (P.L. 119-21). Section 71111 of that law prohibits CMS from implementing the nursing home minimum staffing rule (89 Fed. Reg. 40876, May 10, 2024) until September 30, 2034 — a 10-year moratorium. On December 3, 2025, CMS formally repealed the staffing standard by interim final rule, citing P.L. 119-21 as the legislative basis; the rule was void as of February 2, 2026.

Documented in the prior fact-check: Nursing Home Donations and the Staffing Rule That Disappeared — which documents Long Island operator Benjamin Landa’s $68,700 in pre-vote contributions to Langworthy’s committees and his 106-facility network’s relationship to the staffing standards.

Chronology of the §71111 moratorium relative to the Chautauqua closures:

DateEvent
Nov. 2023Lutheran Social Services announces closure of its Jamestown nursing home
Jan. 2, 2024Lutheran nursing home closed (pre-OBBBA window)
May 10, 2024CMS publishes final nursing home minimum staffing rule (89 Fed. Reg. 40876)
June 2025NY DOH approves Absolut Care of Westfield closure plan
July 3, 2025Langworthy votes YES on H.R. 1 (Roll Call 190); §71111 blocks staffing rule until 2034
July 4, 2025OBBBA signed into law
Oct. 20, 2025Absolut Care of Westfield closes; 66 residents displaced, 113 jobs lost
Dec. 3, 2025CMS formally repeals staffing standard, citing P.L. 119-21
Jan. 28, 2026Heritage Village (Gerry) closure announced — facility had been operating below the now-blocked federal RN floor
Feb. 2, 2026CMS staffing rule officially void

The §71111 moratorium did not cause the Absolut Care closure (landlord dispute). It did not cause the Heritage Village closure (financial/census/Medicaid). But it removed the prospective federal pressure that would have required Heritage Village — which was below the RN floor — either to staff up or to close in a controlled way under the new federal standard.

Langworthy’s Public Record on the Three Closures

A search of:

  • langworthy.house.gov press releases
  • Langworthy’s Facebook page
  • Post-Journal coverage of all three closures
  • Observer Today (Dunkirk)
  • Buffalo News
  • WGRZ, WKBW
  • WNY Area Labor Federation critique

returns no public statement from Rep. Langworthy on any of the three Chautauqua County nursing home closures between November 2023 and June 2, 2026.

Local elected officials who did speak publicly on the Heritage Village closure include Chautauqua County Executive PJ Wendel and State Senator George Borrello (R, S57). The federal delegation member representing the district — Rep. Langworthy — is the only level of government missing from the public statement record.

By contrast, in the same window Rep. Langworthy has produced at least 22 posts about a Wisconsin animal-research breeding facility (see the Beagle Posts: Priorities entry), polished multi-angle production at Marshall Farms in North Rose NY, and multiple Home Day Horseheads firefighter posts.

A Note on What the Data Does — and Doesn’t — Show

What is documented:

  • Three nursing home closures in Chautauqua County since November 2023 (Lutheran Social Services, Absolut Care of Westfield, Heritage Village in Gerry).
  • Heritage Village’s pre-closure CMS data showed RN staffing below the federal 0.55 hours/resident/day floor and total nurse staffing below the 3.48 floor — both of which §71111 of OBBBA blocked from enforcement.
  • Langworthy voted YES on the OBBBA bill containing §71111 (Roll Call 190, July 3, 2025).
  • No public statement from Langworthy on any of the three closures in the searched window.

What is not documented:

  • The CMS staffing numbers above are drawn from secondary aggregators (ProPublica Nursing Home Inspect, ElderGuide, US News) reflecting the most recent CASPER and Payroll-Based Journal data indexed pre-closure. For citation-grade precision, the underlying CMS Provider Information and PBJ Daily Nurse Staffing CSVs covering FY2024-Q4 through FY2025-Q2 for CCNs 335683 and 335353 should be pulled. Approximations are noted with “~”.
  • McGuire Group and Heritage Ministries did not, individually, publicly lobby against the staffing rule on the record located; industry opposition was channeled through trade associations (American Health Care Association / LeadingAge / NYS Health Facilities Association).
  • Whether Langworthy received any private constituent correspondence about any of the closures.

The pattern documented here is the public-record pattern: closures named, federal floor that one closing facility was failing, vote, and silence.

Verdict: DOCUMENTED PATTERN

Three nursing home closures in one Chautauqua County window. Two displacement events totaling 106+ residents and 113+ jobs. One of the closing facilities was operating below the federal RN staffing floor that §71111 of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act blocked. Langworthy voted YES on the bill containing §71111. He has made no public statement on any of the three closures in the searched window — while producing high-volume polished content on issues outside his district during the same period.

Sources

All data from public primary sources. Methodology available on request.