Staff Writer
“Allowing people to do for themselves as long as possible,” this is Caribou Nursing and Rehabilitation owner Albert Cyr’s philosophy.
Contributed photo
Albert Cyr, left, founder of Caribou Rehab and Nursing Center, and his son, Phil Cyr, facility adminstrator, celebrate 35 years in the business located on Rose Street in Caribou.
Cyr, the son of a farmer, as well as one himself, decided in 1972 that maybe farming wasn’t such a great deal any longer, as more and more potato growers were bowing out due to competition from other states which in turn affected the local market conditions. With this decision made Cyr, never idle, found himself looking into purchasing land to construct a nursing home in Caribou.
“I had a friend, a contractor, who started a housing development in Van Buren and built a nursing home in Bangor… through our conversations I remembered there had been a sign on the Fort Fairfield Road, for a couple of years that advertised a “60-bed nursing home, coming soon,” said Cyr.
The thought process took over and in 1973, Cyr mortgaged his farm and began search for the right location. Seeing that Caribou was in need of this type of facility, Cyr began construction on the 60 bed Caribou Nursing Home on Rose Street, enlarging to 110 beds three years later. Following the opening of the new nursing home, Cyr later purchased, in 1976, Aroostook Convalescent Facility which is currently the Presque Isle Nursing Home.
“For the first 25 years, financially the facility did really well and was able to keep pace with the ever changing cost of health care issues, with state and federal regulations allowing for incentives which helped keep the costs down”, said Cyr.
“In 1973, cost per day at the nursing home was $22, currently residents and their families face the amount of $235 a day due to changes in federal regulations. “The nursing home business has changed because the government payments have changed, therefore the government pretty much drives the business,” said Cyr. “We depend on payment from the government so when the government is broke, payments are very, very poor,” he added. “You have a partner of sorts with a business and the state of Maine, but the state has no investment but they do have control,” he said adding, “the federal payments are better than the state, allowing some losses to be offset by the more generous federal funds.”
“Skilled care keeps long-term care alive stated Cyr, but the government doesn’t have the money to continue. In the past 10 years we’ve seen an increase of 50 percent inflation, about 3 per-cent a year, and we receive an estimated 1 percent from the government. Health care inflation is higher than consumer inflation at this point.”
Albert Cyr’s six children have been or currently are involved with the nursing home facilities as licensed administrators and bookkeepers. Phil Cyr is the Caribou Nursing Home administrator and also is part owner in the Millinocket Nursing Home.
The senior Cyr is a strong advocate for what he describes as “aging in place.” This statement is in regard to the numerous baby boomers who in 10 to 20 years will be seeking some type of skilled, long-term or assisted living care. Cyr’s recommendation to this scenario is assisted living residential apartments, where upon a resident may be at home in their own apartment surrounded by their own belongings, living in a secure and safe environment. The rent costs of this type of living runs far below that of a long-term care facility where medical and everyday assistance if necessary. The difference being that payment for these services are charged only when used,” he said.
“Baby-boomers as a rule have two incomes with a small mortgage, their kids are finishing college. I recommend that when that “alarm bells starts to ring, reminding us its time to start saving for long-term care, people should start going on cruises and buying the toys they want,” he said.
Cyr stated, “These are the nursing homes of tomorrow. Regulations for placement in assisted living quarters are not the same as a nursing home and assisted living can be as low as one-third of the cost.”
“Stability is good, uprooting and changing environments only adds to the problem,” Cyr added.
Cyr owns Leisure Village and Leisure Gardens which offer rents from $650 to $2,000 a month depending on if they are rented furnished or unfurnished, or if a resident wishes to be on a meal plan which provides the main meals. Variance on the cost also results from if subsidies are provided from health care providers or if an individual qualifies under Elder Independence of Maine.
The Caribou Nursing Rehab Center, which is celebrating its’ 35th anniversary, provides quality care with activities scheduled daily covering a wide range of choices encouraging residents to be as active as possible.
Since its opening, the establishment has served 2,000 residents and has paid an estimated $2 million in property taxes. The Caribou location has paid approximately $50 million in payroll over its history.
Each facility provides employment for 130 individuals and currently there are 40 assisted living apartments.
