logo

Following the announcement last week that Cambridge Warren would be shuttered effective Dec. 31, Carpe VITA Senior Living CEO Mary Walka responded to questions regarding the closing.

Carpe VITA took over management of the facility this summer for parent company Cambridge Retirement Living.

“When we took over, the building was struggling,” Walka said. “This building really hasn’t recovered from the COVID pandemic.”

Walka noted inflation was a major factor in the decision saying, “the cost of everything is going up.”

“It was inevitable,” she said. “It really hasn’t been making money for some time. Unfortunately, the owner could no longer supplement it.”

Walka said the closing process included the state Department of Human Services in addition to the local ombudsman.

“It was a very organized process,” she said. “The lady from DHS called it ‘the most organized closing’ she had ever seen.”

Walka said the facility has 23 residents and 20 employees. As to what happens to them, Walka said the company is offering them options, albeit not local ones.

Residents have the option of relocating to another facility with the company. Likewise, employees are all being offered employment at another facility. Most of those offers would require relocation as there is only one other in the region with the company.

Walka said there’s other support for those impacted by the decision.

“For a difficult situation, there’s a lot of people willing to help,” she said. “There’s a lot of support for residents in the community.”

Walka spoke highly of both the region and community.

“We run a number of similar facilities and we always enjoyed coming up to Warren,” she said. “We did not want it to happen. It’s very sad.”

Cambridge Retirement Living, operates seven other facilities in Pennsylvania in Beaver, Corry, Ebensburg, Larksville, Wampum and two in the PIttsburgh area.

Carpe VITA Senior Living’s LinkedIn describes itself as a “management company optimizing your senior living communities.”