Officials at the local and state levels updated area residents on the processes in play for Tyson Foods and Holiday Resort as part of Friday’s Talk of Emporia.
KVOE News had several guests on the program, including outgoing 17th District State Senator Jeff Longbine; Longbine’s successor, Mike Argabright; 60th District Representative Mark Schreiber; Lyon County Commission Chair Rollie Martin; and Regional Development Association of East Central Kansas Chief Executive Officer Jim Witt. All on the interview say their main focus is taking care of the people affected, and Longbine says his time dealing with similar situations — both as a lawmaker and as Emporia city commissioner before his time in the Legislature — are helping him in this situation. When it comes to Tyson, Emporia was battling several factors that didn’t help as the company shifts its production focus in Kansas to its Holcomb plant near Garden City.
Holiday Resort, meanwhile, confirmed Tuesday its plans to close down all local operations by Friday — but on Thursday, the Kansas Department of Aging and Disability Services announced Mission Health would oversee local operations for at least 30 days and possibly as long as 60, depending on the situation after a month and a possible extension through the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Schreiber says his role has been as a conduit to the different entities involved.
There are also several significant questions about the Holiday Resort situation, including why KDADS said Holiday Resort is no longer qualified to receive funding through the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development as well as whether residents were given 30 days’ notice — as mandated — before the initial decision to close Friday. Shortly after Talk of Emporia ended Friday, a HUD spokesperson emailed KVOE News and clarified some of the Holiday Resort situation, saying the skilled nursing facility has a mortgage loan through an unspecified commercial lender as well as mortgage insurance through HUD as opposed to funding from the federal agency. HUD also says the facility owner was in default on the loan “for some time,” prompting “extensive efforts over many months” to bring the loan current but the owner did not make that happen.
During the broadcast, Schreiber said the 30-day notice apparently did not happen. He also says Mission Health called off-air during the program to tell him it would be paying all employees affected by the shutdown.
Witt says the announcements on back-to-back days highlight the need for a diverse local economy. He says that’s already in place to a degree with more efforts on that front underway.
For Argabright, a longtime educator and education administrator before being elected last month, this has been a full immersion into the legislative side of the employment issue.
A resource fair through Southeast KansasWorks was mentioned for Dec. 16, although specifics — like location — have not been finalized. Martin says there will likely be several such events scheduled through at least January, and he says the community will pull through stronger than before.
Longbine says the local response effort is somewhat different than other similar employment announcements in the past 15-20 years, including Tyson’s 2008 downsizing that reduced its local workforce by more than 1,000 employees. The messaging is going through one person, City Communications Manager Christine Torrens, instead of the different community partners. Longbine also says the Emporia Area Chamber of Commerce will unveil a new information website that will be linked on others locally, including Emporia Main Street, the City of Emporia and Lyon County.
10 am Friday: Questions persist after KDADS names temporary manager for Emporia’s Holiday Resort care facility
There are still several questions to answer, but Holiday Resort residents and family members got some good news when the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services announced a temporary manager for the facility in northwest Emporia.
KDADS says Mission Health, based out of Tampa, Florida, will oversee the Holiday Resort operations for at least 30 days and perhaps for as long as 60, depending on the situation after a month and a possible extension through the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
On Tuesday, Holiday Resort had announced plans to close by Friday.
While this gives Holiday Resort residents a month or two to find new living arrangements, It is unclear how this will impact the better than 100 Holiday Resort employees, either now or later. Other questions remain as well, including why Holiday Resort is no longer qualified to receive funding through the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development as well as whether residents were given 30 days’ notice — as mandated — before the initial decision to close.
KVOE News continues seeking answers from Holiday Resort, KDADS and HUD as this situation continues to unfold.
