The president of the provincial Personal Care Home Association says government regulations are a bigger hurdle for small operations like Riverside Country Manor, closed by Eastern Health earlier this week.

Shaun Lane told CBC's St. John's Morning Show on Thursday that about 20 per cent of the province's care homes have closed over the last decade, with the vast majority of them homes with fewer than 20 people.

"A lot of that comes from, or stems from, basically policy changes over the last number of years from the provincial government," said Lane, who said there used to be about 100 homes in Newfoundland.

Lane said his association agrees regulation is needed, but added government policy doesn't affect different-sized businesses equally.

"The biggest difference we're finding is in the actual staffing model. That's where there's a huge difference," he said.

A home with 20 people is required to have more staff per resident than a home with more than three times as many residents, he added.

The provincial government years ago also eliminated a subsidy for smaller homes to pay for night security while increasing the amount of staff required for it, he said.

Lane said he didn't know why Eastern Health shut down Mount Carmel's Riverside Country Manor — the health authority has only said it was for "significant" non-compliance with provincial standards — but added the seemingly sudden closure likely indicates a major problem that required immediate action or a less urgent problem that had been left unresolved for some time.

"If it's an issue with, say, fire and life safety, if it's an issue that's extremely serious, the department does have the right to come in immedately and say, 'Nope, everything's gotta stop, no more admissions, let's address this right now,'" said Lane.

"There's other times when maybe, for example, there's a fire exit that needs to be replaced, the government might say, 'We'll let you do a temporary fix for a month or two months but we need it fixed by a certain date,'" he said in an interview.

"They're usually fairly co-operative and fairly willing to work with an operator."

Lane said he suspects it's likely a long-term problem that hasn't been addressed, and said he'd be surprised if Eastern Health didn't eventually outline the reasons for the closure.

"Maybe they're still trying to work it out, and maybe they're afraid somewhat of some legal action," he said. "But by rights, eventually, it obviously will come out."

Dermot Pike, whose parents were Riverside Country Manor residents, told CBC his parents had noticed Eastern Health workers making several visits there beginning in February, while Pike's wife Julie said Eastern Health visits were happening outside normal business hours, with social works also visiting more frequently.

Eastern Health has said that Riverside's six residents will have new accommodations by Friday.

The home was one of 22 ordered closed by the provincial fire inspector in 2008 for failing to install sprinklers.