A nursing home in Ellsworth has been sold, according to documents filed at the Hancock County Registry of Deeds.
The new owners of Seaport Village are looking to convert the nursing care operation into a residential care facility, which would offer a reduced level of health care for residents, according to an official with Maine Department of Health and Human Services.
Seaport Village, a 91-bed facility located behind the Moore Community Center on State Street, has been acquired by Camden-based DLTC Healthcare & Bella Point.
Documents filed at the county’s registry of deeds indicate Bella Point Ellsworth LLC has secured a loan of $10.2 million from a Utah-based financial lender to purchase the nursing home. Chad Cloutier, the owner and CEO of the Camden company, is listed in the documents as the manager of Bella Point Ellsworth LLC.
Registry documents also indicate that last month, a New York bank discharged the mortgage it held on the property under the prior owner — a sign that the transaction has been completed and the prior mortgage has been paid off.
Officials with DLTC Healthcare and with the prior owner, First Atlantic Healthcare, did not return messages Tuesday or Wednesday morning seeking comment on the sale of the nursing home. The onsite administrator of Seaport Village, Brandon Cerkovitz, declined to comment and directed inquiries to First Atlantic’s main office in South Portland.
The new owners are looking into dropping Seaport Village’s accreditation as a skilled nursing home and possibly fully converting it to a residential care facility. Currently, Seaport Village is licensed for 61 beds in its nursing home wing and 30 beds in its assisted living wing.
The Maine Department of Health and Human Services has received and is reviewing proposals for closing the nursing home operations and replacing them with residential care, according to department spokesperson Jackie Farwell. Seaport Village has offered skilled nursing services since the facility opened in 2014.
The change in ownership follows a period of financial difficulties for the nursing home, which in 2020 had a lien placed upon it by the city for failure to pay $100,000 in back taxes. Those taxes were paid off and the lien was discharged the following year, according to deeds registry documents.
Communities across Maine have struggled in recent years with the loss of skilled nursing services for seniors.
Also in Hancock County, Island Nursing Home in Deer Isle closed in 2021 due to staffing shortages. But despite community support, it has been unable to reopen as a facility that can offer nursing care or medication management to residents. Last month, officials with the facility said they plan to renovate and reopen as “supportive housing” for seniors that will offer some coordinated services for residents such as cleaning, cooking and transportation, but will emphasize independent living.
