Relatives voice criticism

Eviction! 18 nursing home residents must now move out

The Wagner Senior Center in Rudersdorf is home to 18 people in need of care. Starting at the end of July, it will become expensive for them. The alternative: moving out.(Bild: Krone KREATIV/Christian Schulter, stock.adobe.com)

18 people in need of care are losing their homes because the state of Burgenland is withdrawing daily rates from the operator of a senior living facility for “moral reasons.” Relatives of the elderly residents are stunned and criticize the fact that politics is being played out at the expense of older people.

It’s all over on July 31. Then 18 elderly people in need of care must leave the nursing home in Rudersdorf because the state has terminated the daily rate agreement. The facility itself could continue to operate, but without subsidies, it will become unaffordable for most residents. State Governor Hans Peter Doskozil (SPÖ) had previously described the operator’s actions regarding profits and cash flows as “morally reprehensible.”

For Helga Schlatte, this is “displacement from home.” Her nearly 100-year-old mother has lived in the facility for twelve years. That she now has to leave her home is “brutal and unsocial.” The care is excellent, and the team has remained virtually unchanged for years. “The caregivers even write down for me the stories my mother tells in her sleep.”

For us, care comes first, not politics. What is being done to these people is brutal and anything but socially responsible. 

Helga Schlatte

She knows everyone there: doctors, the pedicurist, the hairdresser. “The fact that old people are being torn from their familiar surroundings and politics is being played out behind their backs” hits her particularly hard.

Regina Winkler from Rudersdorf describes it the same way. Her mother, born in 1930, has been living in the nursing home for three years and is fully mentally alert. She receives good medical care, is kept active, and is taken out of her room. “It’s like a little family.” For Winkler, it’s clear: “We actually need more nursing homes like this.”

The Wagner Senior Center in Rudersdorf is home to 18 people in need of care. Starting at the end of July, it will become expensive for them. The alternative: moving out.(Bild: Krone KREATIV/Christian Schulter, stock.adobe.com)

Between criticism and many hurdles
With the termination notice, further hurdles await those affected. There are waiting lists, and deadlines are ticking. According to the home’s contract, there is a one-month notice period. If a spot opens up elsewhere sooner, reservation fees may apply. “We’re talking about 80 euros a day. Nobody even thinks about that,” says Schlatte.

For G. Hemmer, too, the decision is questionable. Her 93-year-old mother has been living in the senior care home for four years. After a foot amputation, home care was no longer possible. Her wish: to return to Rudersdorf. The fact that spots are available in Olbendorf, for example, is of little help. “That’s a trip around the world.”

For the state, everything is so simple, but it’s the relatives who have to deal with it.

G. Hemmer aus Heiligenkreuz

There is also criticism of the state’s approach. People learned from the media why their parents are supposed to lose their homes. They were invited to the information session on short notice; many are still working. “For the state, everything is so simple, but it’s the relatives who have to deal with it,” says Hemmer.

Herbert Koller’s mother has severe dementia. She, too, lives in the nursing home, where she has her social circle, familiar faces, and friends. After the information session, he got the impression that the state had no intention of maintaining the nursing home in its current form.

State guarantees spots and no additional costs
In the office of Provincial Councilor Leonhard Schneemann (SPÖ), officials state that the termination of the daily rate agreement is final. They are working to find the best care placement for every resident. There are beds available for all clients; this had already been clarified before the termination. There would be no financial disadvantages for the relatives. Nevertheless, the families remain fearful that their parents will lose what is hardest to replace in old age: familiarity.