Avamere Health Services, the Tigard-headquartered senior care company, plans to lay off approximately 129 employees starting Sept. 1 as it hands off 26 skilled nursing facilities to new operators and pivots away from the business that built its name.
The cuts, disclosed in a WARN Act filing reported by the Valley Times, were submitted to Oregon labor officials on Monday, Aug. 3. They hit primarily back-office workers at the company's headquarters: payroll, accounting, human resources, IT, legal, finance and operations staff, plus several executive positions.
Nurses and frontline caregivers are largely unaffected.
The layoffs are tied to an Oct. 1 transfer of 26 skilled nursing facilities to new operators, pending regulatory approval. Sabra Health Care REIT, the landlord that leases those properties to Avamere, announced that 22 will go to Cascadia Healthcare and four to another operator it described as a "national leader" in skilled nursing. Separately, real estate investment firm Arcus Healthcare Partners intends to take over five Avamere assisted living communities in October.
Avamere operates across six states. Which specific facilities are in Oregon or Washington County has not been disclosed, and the company did not respond to the Valley Times' request for clarification.
Fewer desks, not fewer beds
Maggie Hilty, Avamere's vice president of growth and development, told The Oregonian the layoffs are part of the company's plan to exit skilled nursing entirely. As other companies take over the facilities, Avamere will no longer need as many headquarters employees to support them.
The final number could land below 129. Some workers may be hired by the incoming operators. But Avamere warned that more cuts are possible if additional facilities change hands.
Hilty declined to say which assisted living communities are affected or how the changes will affect residents and frontline caregivers.
A shrinking footprint
The move continues a pattern. Avamere sold its Oregon home health and hospice business to Idaho-based The Pennant Group about two years ago. The Oregon Health Authority approved that deal in October 2024 with conditions designed to protect patients' access to care.
Now the company says it wants to focus on senior housing communities and home-based services.
"At the heart of this decision is our desire to listen closely to what seniors and families need from us now and in the years ahead," CEO Mary Kofstad said in an Aug. 3 release.
Company officials told the state they could not notify employees sooner because negotiations were confidential and agreements were not finalized until the week of Aug. 3.
The Oct. 1 facility transfers still require Oregon Health Authority approval. No hearing date has been announced.
