Guardian Elder Care at Johnstown, LLC, part of Guardian Healthcare, a private, family-owned skilled nursing operator founded in 1995 and headquartered in Brockway, Pennsylvania, filed for Chapter 11 protection on July 29, 2024 in the Western District of Pennsylvania (Case No. 24-70299) before Judge Jeffery A. Deller. The filing followed more than a year of unsuccessful stakeholder negotiations as COVID-era disruption, labor shortages, wage inflation, agency staffing costs, and inadequate Medicaid reimbursement pressured operations across 19 skilled nursing facilities with more than 1,700 beds in Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Prepetition debt included approximately $16.5 million on an S&T Bank term loan, $38.2 million in HUD/KeyBank mortgage loans, a $7.5 million S&T line of credit, and a fully drawn $4 million Public Credit revolver, while the Cuarzo master lease portfolio had accumulated approximately $12.5 million in rent arrears after payments ceased in July 2023. The restructuring yielded a two-pronged asset disposition: GBK Eight LLC acquired eight owned facilities for $56 million through a two-step closing (five non-HUD properties in December 2024 for $11 million; three HUD properties in April 2025 for $45 million), while Oxford Valley Health assumed operations of eleven leased facilities effective October 29, 2024. A $6.8 million DIP facility ($2.8 million new money plus $4.0 million Public Credit roll-up) funded ongoing operations. The Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors sought standing to challenge S&T Bank's secured claim, and pharmacy operations were discontinued in December 2024.
