Albany County Executive Michael Breslin must come up with a plan for long-term health care for the county within the next 90 days.
The resolution, unanimously passed by the Albany County Legislature Monday, June 8, addressed a topic of debate for over 10 years: the fate of the Albany County Nursing Home.
The county downsized the number of beds at the nursing home from 420 to 250 after the New York State Commission on Health Care Facilities in the 21st Century, also known as the Berger Commission, recommended it in 2007.
The building, located at 780 Albany Shaker Road, has been labeled by spokespersons of the county executive’s office as antiquated and is required to meet new fire regulations by 2013. These regulations include a full sprinkler system to run throughout the building ` something that officials say is both costly and time intensive.
Some residents at the June 8 meeting raised the question of why a new nursing home needs to be built at all, though many argue that the services that are provided at the nursing home are essential to the quality of life of senior citizens in the county and cannot continue to be provided in the old building.
While Breslin has talked about finding a new location for the nursing home for some time, people close to the issue say the reason he has not made any moves is because he is not interested in having a nursing home.
In a letter obtained by The Spotlight dated March 6 that was sent from Breslin’s office to two individuals in the Office of the New York State Governor, Breslin talked about the financial burdens of operating the facility.
`If the county chooses to build a new facility, the financial burden of operating the facility will grow exponentially over the next 30 to 40 years and proportionally reduce the opportunities for further investments in the non-institutional services. Indeed, given today’s economic climate, it could force reductions in the more sensible home and community based services,` he wrote.
In the same letter, Breslin said that if the county were to make `a substantial investment in long-term care,` it would need support from the state. He also writes that some Albany County nursing home providers have offered the option of having `hard to place` nursing home patients that currently live in the Albany County Nursing Home come to their establishments, `if given a sufficient financial enhancement.`
`I would be interested in exploring options for state and county support of this concept,` he wrote.
In another letter, dated June 3 and addressed to Albany County Legislature Chairman Charles E. Houghtaling, Breslin said he was aware of the resolution that was to be voted on Monday night and wanted to make Houghtaling aware of the discussions he was involved in with the governor’s office regarding long-term health care in the county.
In his letter to Houghtaling, Breslin said he and the Department of Health were talking about a draft plan being jointly developed to serve more people that are currently served at the nursing home today with the inclusion of a nursing home replacement program for `hard to place` residents, establishing additional assisted living program beds in the community and establishing a Program for All Inclusive Care for the Elderly, or PACE program, a program that allows seniors to stay in their own homes and brings people to them, as well as having participants in the program brought their medications and more.
Breslin wrote that the discussions with the DOH are ongoing and that the DOH will issue a letter shortly commiting to working with the county.
The Spotlight reached out to Breslin at press time, at which point he issued a written statement.
`Last year, the county spent over $18 million, or over 30 percent of our real property tax levy to care for less than 250 nursing home residents,` Breslin said in a written statement. `We have to reshape and enhance long-term care in Albany County, to use our resources to serve more individuals in a better way.`
The resolution passed Monday does not force the County Executive to commit to building a new nursing home, but does obligate him to coming up with a plan.
When asked if building a new nursing home will be part of that plan, Mary Duryea, director of communications for Breslin, said, `Right now, that’s not known. We should develop a plan for long-term care in Albany County. Right now, we’re not sure if that includes building a new nursing home. We’re going to be looking at all the options.`
But the only option those who have relatives in the nursing home now want to see is a new nursing home built.
June Maniscalco, a family council member, spoke at the legislature’s meeting about the PACE program.
`The PACE program and the long-term care don’t go far enough,` she said, stressing the importance of a nursing home being built.
Renee Barchitta, the daughter of a nursing home resident, was so pleased that the issue was being pushed by the legislature, that she baked cookies and brownies for all of the members to show her appreciation.
`Albany County legislators have a heart,` she said. `You really have a heart.`
Albany County Comptroller Michael Conners also commented during the public comment session of the meeting, saying that the county not only needs a nursing home, but that the county should have better management of that nursing home, attributing the loss of thousands of taxpayer dollars on the nursing home to poor management.
`It’s a crisis of the leadership,` he said.
As of last Thursday, Conners said, the nursing home was only operating at about 55 percent of its capacity, costing taxpayers money while the resource they are paying for is not being used to its full potential.
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