Last-minute $130,000 loan forestalls closure of Joan Whiting Rest Home
Joan Whiting Rest Home has been thrown a financial lifeline which “seemed like a miracle or the sort of plot twist you wouldn’t believe in a movie,” said Joan Whiting Trust chairperson Chris Mitson.
The Nelson-Marlborough Hospitals Charitable Trust has announced a $130,000 interest-free loan, completely out of the blue, which will enable the rest home to keep running for another year.
The offer arrived on the day that the trustees were meeting to reluctantly make the decision to close the rest home.
“After the meeting, we were all incredibly depressed,” said chairperson Chris Mitson. “We’d actually gone to the office to address envelopes for the letters we were sending out to families with the sad news that we were closing the home. The letter was written, the envelopes were addressed and suddenly, when I checked the email, there was the offer, just in, of the $130,000 loan.”
On the day of the regular board meeting, staff had been warned that the trustees would be making a final decision on closure. Staff were told that the trustees had finally run out of options because the District Health Board (DHB) was unable to continue a monthly subsidy.
The trustees had put up a separate proposal to the DHB but it seemed certain that the DHB’s request for officials to investigate would have meant that any loan would have come too late to save the home.
“What a lot of people don’t realise,” said Mr Mitson, “is that you can’t simply go out of the business the day the money runs out. In fact, trustees or directors who knowingly keep a bankrupt business going are legally liable themselves. Quite apart from that, we have always been determined that, if we had to close, we would do so in an orderly and responsible manner to provide maximum certainty for our 17 residents, their families and staff.”
The lifeline assistance means that Joan Whiting is now well poised to take advantage of the proposed integration of health services in the Bay if that goes ahead. Current estimates suggest that if the community gives the go-ahead, it will take about 18 months before any new facility is ready.
Mr Mitson warned it won’t be all plain sailing. “This money is a one-off that keeps us afloat,” he said, “but we always have to remember our obligations – legal and moral. Come October we are going to be in the same boat again without real financial support. The trustees will be doing everything they can but I’d like to think there is a role for the community in providing financial help.”
The trust applies for grants whenever possible but the reality is that most grant-giving organisations do not supply funds for operating expenses, Mr Mitson said.
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