XENIA — Greene County Administrator Brandon Huddleson didn’t mince words as to why the Greene County-owned Greenewood Manor is closing.

“The census is just too low to continue to operate,” Huddleson said.

The nursing and rehabilitation center will officially close on Friday, July 30.

Huddleson made the surprising announcement via resolution at Thursday’s county commissioners’ meeting. The resolution cited the population of the county home being “too small for economical and efficient operation.”

Greenewood Manor is Medicare and medicaid certified and offers skilled and intermediate 24-hour nursing care as well as supportive living and respite care operations, according to the county’s website.

“The facility relies on payments from Medicare, Medicaid, private insurance, or direct resident payments,” Huddleson said. “No general fund tax dollars are used for the operation. We are at a point where the revenue is not covering the expenses.”

The closure means 49 jobs will be eliminated in addition to residents needing to find a new place for care.

“The residents will all be placed in other local facilities and we are working to transition our employees to other opportunities,” Huddleson said.

According to Ohio Revised Code Section 5155.31, the commissioners can close the home or sell it to a third party and “provide for the care of its residents and of other persons afterwards determined eligible for county care by housing them in another county home, a home licensed under Chapter 3721 of the Revised Code, or private homes within the county that the board considers proper, and upon such terms as may be agreed upon by the boards of the respective counties.”

Greene County News reached out to Greenewood Manor Administrator Amy Salser for comment but she had not responded as of press time.