The flood-ravaged retirement community Good Samaritan Society-Kissimmee Village will come under new ownership on Monday, even as more than a dozen lawsuits stemming from the hurricane damage are still playing out in court.
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Residents have known of the new owners since February, but since then they’ve been waiting for any news about their top priority — how much more they might have to pay.
“Everyone is basically holding their breath,” said longtime resident Mary, who asked to use her first name only.
In 2022, Hurricane Ian deluged the retirement community, leaving 523 residential units uninhabitable. Shortly afterward, the South Dakota-based nonprofit Good Samaritan announced it would sell the Kissimmee location and over 15 other sites it owned across the country.
Officials with the company had said the sale was unrelated to damage caused by Ian. Instead, they attributed it to COVID-19 era challenges impacting the senior care industry overall and an effort to consolidate its services to the Midwest, where 70% of its senior residents live.
Beginning Monday, Leesburg-based Millennial Healthcare Services will take over operations at the Kissimmee retirement community, renaming it Oakwood Meadows.
Good Samaritan is “committed to a smooth transition” and the new owners will “ensure the continuation of high-quality services”, Dustin Scholz, Good Samaritan vice president of operations, said in a statement to the Orlando Sentinel.
“Following an extensive review, we have selected a reputable Florida operator that will take over operations of Good Samaritan Society – Kissimmee Village,” Scholz said. “When the transition is complete, residents will continue to receive care and services at Kissimmee Village.”
Millennial Healthcare Services, founded in 2021, lists itself as a “healthcare consulting group” on its LinkedIn page with specialization in long term care, skilled nursing, rehabilitation and assisted living. Millennial Healthcare Services did not respond to a request for comment.
Roughly five days before the transition is set to take place, seniors discovered via a letter taped to their front doors that their rent will not increase for at least the first month. The letter told mobile home residents they will pay their normal rent for June of $737.
Mobile home owners makeup the majority of the retirees living at Good Samaritan Kissimmee Village. Florida is the state with the leading number of mobile homes, often purchased for their cheaper price than standard homes by retirees on a fixed income who then rent the lot where their home sits.
But those lot rents have slowly increased across the state and have priced out some retirees, leaving Good Samaritan residents worried the change in ownership may push them out too.
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Over an 8-year period between 2015 to 2023, median lot rent for manufactured homes has nearly doubled across the state, according to American Housing Survey data from the Census Bureau.
During a Feb. 24 townhall meeting that introduced residents to their new owners, many said they were nervous for the transition and questioned if rents would rise.
“I think what everyone wants to ask is, are the mobile home owners safe?” asked one resident at the meeting. “Are we going to be protected or are we going to be moved out? That’s what our worry is.”
Officials with Millennial Healthcare assured the crowd no changes would take place unless residents requested them. CEO Lisena Mathurin said they currently don’t manage any properties with mobile homes, but have in the past in other states. Those had been sold to different management companies in an effort to restructure locally, she said.
“You guys are 100% safe,” Mathurin said at the meeting. “For as long as you choose to be safe. We are not looking to make any changes.”
But Mary said she’s not convinced. She has lived at Good Samaritan for years and endured Hurricane Ian, which flooded her home and left a gaping hole in her roof, forcing her to live with her daughter for months while she waited for her mobile home to be fixed.
“We don’t really know anything and there’s just a lot of speculation about what may change,” she said.
Many left the retirement community after Ian, Mary said, adding that more are considering leaving over concerns about future hikes in rent.
“Many people have gone back up north already,” she said. “Everyone is anxious.”
The new owners are taking over amid 18 lawsuits all brought by current and former residents against Good Samaritan who claim damages from flooding.
The suits filed allege Good Samaritan misrepresented the risk of flooding to new or prospective residents and each seeks thousands in damages.
Some of the earliest lawsuits were filed in 2023 and trial dates are still pending, though a June 26 conference hearing on the status of the cases is set, court records show. The hearing is likely to outline the schedule for a trial later this summer.
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