2 Sweetgrass facilities placed under bankruptcy protection

Wade Spees
The Post and Courier

Sweetgrass Court Memory Care Community on Anna Knapp Boulevard in Mount Pleasant was placed under bankruptcy protection last week along with nearby Sweetgrass Village Assisted Living Community.

Two Mount Pleasant elder-care providers were placed under bankruptcy protection last week, after the company that controls them defaulted on a $58 million loan.

The 38-bed Sweetgrass Court Memory Care Community on Anna Knapp Boulevard and the 85-bed Sweetgrass Village Assisted Living Community on Mathis Ferry Road remain open.

Officials of the facilities have told industry regulators at the state Department of Health and Environmental Control that services will not suffer as a result of the financial troubles.

Sweetgrass Court serves elderly patients who have been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia. The nearby Sweetgrass Village is a full-service apartment complex for seniors who can live on their own but need some assistance.

The East Cooper facilities and another in Anderson were among 10 elder-care centers that sought bankruptcy protection in Tennessee last week in an effort to buy them time to reorganize their finances. The individual filings essentially block lenders and other creditors from collecting on any debts without court approval.

The bankrupt centers were purchased less than two years ago by 10 companies owned by Senior Living Properties II, which is managed by Jon M. Harder, chief executive of Sunwest Management Inc.

Salem, Ore.-based Sunwest, which is ranked one of the largest senior-housing providers in the nation, operates the two Sweetgrass facilities and 13 other centers in South Carolina.

A spokeswoman for Sweetgrass Court said the bankruptcy will have no effect on services.

"Whatever the issues that there are with Sunwest, they have no bearing on the care of the residents here at Sweetgrass Court," said Sherri Scott, administrator. "We will continue to give our quality care to them and we assure the well-being of each and every one of our residents."

A Sunwest representative could not be reached for comment Monday. Neither Senior Living Properties II nor Sunwest has filed for bankruptcy.

The Sunwest affiliates purchased the 10 properties in November 2006, borrowing nearly $58 million from GE Business Financial Services Inc. to pay for the expansion, according to a foreclosure lawsuit the lender filed last month in Charleston County.

GE Business Financial said in court documents that the various borrowers were notified that they had defaulted on the loan in March based on violations of the loan terms. The lender also demanded repayment of the nearly $56 million balance on July 9. Interest on the loan is piling up at the rate of more than $17,000 a day.

Attorneys for the bankrupt entities are seeking to consolidate the 10 filings into a single case to be sorted out in Nashville.

DHEC spokeswoman Clair Boatwright said Sunwest representatives met with department officials before the bankruptcies were filed, which she called a "good sign."

"And they have made an assurance there are no standard of care issues, that there would be no decrease in services," she said.

Contact John McDermott at 937-5572 or jmcdermott@postandcourier.com.