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Ownership and the union at Our Lady of Angels Retirement Home are exploring options to keep the facility open.
The nursing home is owned by a nonprofit affiliate of the Joliet-based Sisters of St. Francis of Mary Immaculate.
Sister Jeanne Bessette, president of the order, said management and the union met Thursday to discuss the future of the nursing home.
The Illinois Nurses Association organized nurses and other employees at the facility in August. News of the possible closing of Our Lady of Angels, 1201 Wyoming Ave., came out last week.
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“The union wants to help OLA explore ways to stay open,” Bessette said. “We need some time to consider their proposals before we make any public statements. If we ultimately find that we have no choice but to close – entirely for financial reasons – we will give everyone advance notice, and we will work with the union, the employees, every resident and family to ensure a smooth transition.”
Bessette confirmed that closing the nursing home is under consideration after WJOL-AM reported that Our Lady of Angels could close next year.
In an email response Friday to questions on the future of Our Lady of Angels Retirement Home, Bessette said, “it is no longer financially viable to operate it as a stand-alone healthcare facility. The building needs extensive renovation and updating, and the cost of operations are far greater than the revenues coming in.”
The Joliet order also owns the Village at Our Lady of Angels, an independent senior living community on Wyoming Avenue near the nursing home.
In a response to an emailed question about the future of the Village at Our Lady of Angels, Bessette said, “There is absolutely no discussion about selling the Village.”
The newly formed union at Our Lady of Angels Retirement Home has not reached a contract agreement since forming the union two months ago. The union covers more than 70 employees, including nurses, support staff, housekeeping, maintenance and dietary staff.
The Illinois Nurses Association did not comment Friday on its talks with management about the nursing home’s future.
But union Executive Director Julia Bartmes in a statement last week called threats of closing the nursing home “retaliatory.”
“We are deeply troubled that a care facility would endanger its patients, leave its workers without jobs, and its community with less care resources to avoid bargaining with the union,” Bartmes said in a statement issued Tuesday.
The Illinois Nurses Association also represents nurses at Ascension Saint Joseph-Joliet hospital.