Sullivan County has begun the process of permanently closing the Care Center at Sunset Lake, the county-owned nursing home in Liberty that has housed elderly and disabled residents for over 35 years. The shutdown will displace 93 long-term residents and affect 86 employees, with the transition and closure process expected to wrap up around the end of 2026.
New York State's Department of Health has approved Sullivan County's closure plan, according to Daily Voice. Sullivan County Legislature Chair Nadia Rajsz said county legislators found that taxpayers could no longer afford to operate the facility, and that the county had no choice but to initiate the closure process, per the same report. County officials have pledged that no resident will be left without a skilled-care option, and Rajsz said everyone will have alternate skilled-care choices available to them.
The facility, a 146-bed skilled nursing home offering long-term care and short-term rehabilitation, had fallen to just 66% occupancy with 96 residents by July, down from full capacity in prior years, according to the Sullivan County Democrat. That decline followed the July withdrawal of consulting firm Infinite Care, which had provided administrative and consulting services at the facility since 2021, from its multi-year bid to become the home's licensed operator amid prolonged uncertainty over state approval of its Certificate of Need application — a move that prompted county officials to pause new admissions.
Years of Losses Led to This Point
The financial picture behind the closure has been grim for years. State filings reviewed by the NYS Public Health and Health Planning Council show the Care Center reported an operating loss of nearly $6 million in 2022 alone, with $15.52 million in expenses swamping $9.56 million in revenue. The same filings documented more than $20 million in long-term liabilities for post-employment benefits and over $17 million owed to Sullivan County's general fund as of that year. Sullivan County government now faces rapidly rising costs elsewhere and has experienced significant revenue losses, factors that left officials with little room to keep absorbing the home's shortfalls.
Staffing shortages compounded the financial strain well before the final decision to close. Driven by severe regional healthcare labor shortages, the facility had previously been forced to close a 32-bed unit — 22% of its total bed capacity — and offer sign-on bonuses to try to recruit nurses and nurse aides. Quality metrics slipped during the same stretch: between late 2021 and 2025, after Infinite Care assumed administrative oversight, the home's Medicare.gov rating dropped from four stars to a one-star overall rating, including a one-star score for health inspections, according to The River Reporter.
A Failed Sale, Then a Dissolved Corporation
Sullivan County has owned and operated the Care Center as a public skilled nursing home since 1990. County legislators created the Sunset Lake Local Development Corporation in 2020 specifically to manage a sale or lease of the facility, and it was that effort that brought Infinite Care in as a consultant the following year. But in May 2025, the development corporation voted unanimously to dissolve without ever completing a transaction, reverting ownership of the property back to the county, the River Reporter reported. With Infinite Care's bid dead and no other private operator in place, county officials were left without a viable path to keep the facility running under new management.
What Happens to Residents and Staff
Under state closure regulations updated in December 2025, facilities shutting down must submit a comprehensive closure plan, secure written state approval, engage the community, and give residents written transfer notifications at least two weeks before any move, according to legal guidance published by Insights. County officials say they will work with the state Department of Health and surrounding-area nursing homes to find new accommodations for the Care Center's residents.
For the 86 employees, Sullivan County will offer transfers to other county positions where possible, and the county's Center for Workforce Development will assist any workers who aren't transferred in finding other employment, per Daily Voice's report. County legislators and other officials have not yet decided how the property will be used once the facility closes, and that determination will come later.
Part of a Statewide Pattern
Sullivan County's struggle mirrors pressures facing long-term care providers across New York. Statewide nursing home occupancy across the state's 606 facilities hovered around 90% in mid-2026, below the pre-pandemic median of 95%, leaving more than 17,000 beds unoccupied as facilities contend with rising labor costs and reimbursement gaps, according to a Facebook post from Local Healthcare News. County-owned homes have steadily closed or shifted to private operators statewide since the 2010s, a trend the Hillcountry Observer has tracked as public facilities like Sunset Lake struggle to compete on cost and staffing.
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