The financially troubled Athena Health Care notified state officials this week that it plans to close two more nursing homes, which would mean more than 200 residents would need to be relocated. Athena officials filed a “letter of intent” Friday with the state Department of Social Services that said Sheriden Woods in Bristol would be closing. The day before, they sent a letter to DSS indicating that Countryside Manor, which is also in Bristol, would be closing. The closures would leave Athena with six nursing homes in Connecticut, a rapid downfall for a company that not even two years ago was the largest chain in the state with 22 facilities.  In a letter to employees at Countryside delivered Friday morning, Athena’s CEO Larry Santilli blamed the closing on a variety of factors. “We understand this news is not easy to hear. Our first priority is supporting our residents in this transition,” Santilli wrote. “A combination of factors, including challenges facing skilled long term care nursing facilities like staffing, rising operating costs and other financial considerations along with the need for significant and costly updates to our building have left us no alternative but to seek closure of this facility.” Both facilities are near capacity — Countryside currently has 85 residents and is licensed for 90 beds, while Sheriden Woods has 133 residents and is licensed for 146 beds, according to Athena spokeswoman Savannah Ragali. Athena issued a statement Friday acknowledging the impact on residents, their families and staff. “We recognize that this news is disappointing to our residents and their families, and we will be working closely with state agencies including the Department of Social Services, Public Health, and the local ombudsman’s office to ensure appropriate transfers to other suitable locations within the surrounding communities,” the statement said. The six facilities Athena still operates in Connecticut are: Bayview Health Care in Waterford, Litchfield Woods Health Care Center in Torrington, MeadowBrook of Granby, Northbridge Health Care Center in Bridgeport, Valerie Manor in Torrington and Wadsworth Glen in Middletown. “We are currently evaluating options to support the continued operations of the six Athena-managed nursing homes in Connecticut,” the Athena statement said. Matthew Barrett, the president and chief executive officer for the Connecticut Association of Health Care Facilities and Connecticut Center for Assisted Living, said Friday he is not aware of any public information stating the reasons why Athena is petitioning to close the facilities. “If the state approves these petitions to close, there is simply no way to gloss over this news. Abruptly closing a nursing home effectively means evicting hundreds of residents from their homes,” Barrett said. “It means separating them from dedicated caregivers the residents have sometimes known for years, and it displaces hundreds more staff who have put their hearts into this work for decades. There is real trauma for both the residents and the staff.” Athena’s letters of intent start a process that could take more than six months. There will be a period of 10 days after which DSS will contact Athena and schedule public hearings at each facility within 30 days to allow residents and staff to have their say. DSS then has 180 days from those public hearings to decide whether to allow Athena to close the facilities. “It’s a long process and all along the way the residents will have the opportunity to have their voices heard,” DSS spokesman Jalmar De Dios said.  In the past year Athena has sold 10 of its facilities to National Health Care Associates, a longtime nursing home provider based in New York. The most recent sales in early November were for more than $30 million, records show. The Connecticut Mirror has chronicled the growing financial problems at Athena over the past two years and legislators’ concerns about how the fiscal troubles are impacting residents’ care. Several employees have contacted the CT Mirror with stories of being unable to pay medical bills and having medical procedures canceled because Athena was behind in paying employee health care claims. In a memo to more than 2,500 employees last winter, Santilli acknowledged the problem. “Athena has not been able to promptly meet all the funding requirements of the employee health plan. As a result, we are approximately 6 months behind in paying submitted health claims. In our continuing efforts to address shortfalls with funding the health plan, we have hired outside personnel to assist us to properly administer the health plan moving forward.” Athena also owed towns and cities across the state more than $750,000 in back taxes and has been sued by numerous vendors for non-payments. The two closures are the latest Athena facilities to close. In September, The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services notified that because Abbott Terrace in Waterbury had a “failure to meet Medicare’s basic health and safety requirements,” funding would be stopped as of Sept. 10 for any new patients and within 30 days for all patients. The unprecedented step by federal officials in effect closed Abbott Terrace, a 205-bed facility because most of its residents are Medicaid or Medicare recipients and not private payers.