Nursing homes may merge into single facility

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October 7, 2008

<a href="mailto:draymo@pressrepublican.com">By DENISE RAYMO</a> The Press Republican Tue Oct 07, 2008, 05:43 PM EDT

MALONE — Alice Hyde Medical Center Nursing Home and Franklin County Nursing Home may merge into one 165-bed facility, including 30 assisted-living beds.

The hospital recently received a $2.9 million state grant to study how a merger might work between its 75-bed facility and the county’s 80-bed Nursing Home.

The county has consistently bailed out its Nursing Home, contributing nearly $3.9 million to balance its budgets since 2004, said County Manager James Feeley.

And because that burden can’t be continually placed on taxpayers, “all viable solutions on how best to provide long-term, skilled-nursing care must be examined,” he said in a news release.

COST EFFICIENCY

Feeley said the hospital’s chance to get grant funding through the State Department of Health, to look at merging under the Health Care Efficiency and Affordability Law for New Yorkers (HEAL NY 8) project, “is an opportunity of consolidation and proper alignment of long-term-care facilities that the county cannot pass on.”

He said the partnership “is a natural outgrowth of the county’s need to find the most economical and viable solution to long-term care in northern Franklin County.”

Medical Center officials were equally enthusiastic about the possible new facility, which would be owned and operated by Alice Hyde.

“We are extremely pleased to be a recipient of a HEAL NY 8 grant,” said John Johnson, president and chief executive officer. “Coordinating a unified long-term-care approach in Franklin County requires ongoing investigation and evaluation.

“Our concern and priority is making sure that the frail and elderly in our community have access to high-quality nursing-home care. Equally important is not jeopardizing the financial stability of the Medical Center.”

He said financial consultants “are reviewing all possible scenarios that may affect the feasibility of this project.

“We are anxious to move forward, but there is much work to be done first.”

INFORMATION

Keeping county residents, patients, families and staff informed of all aspects of the project is a priority.

“What I don’t want is for people to start worrying,” said Legislator Gordon Crossman (D-Malone), who is chairman of the Human Resources Committee, which oversees the Nursing Home.

“If anything develops, we will keep people informed, but the last thing I want is for people to panic.

“I’m very proud of the Nursing Home we have,” Crossman said. “We’ve got a great staff and great people there.”

MORE FUNDS NEEDED

While the nearly $3 million is a start toward studying a merger, actual consolidation would take a lot more money.

“It has been explored for a number of years, but this is nowhere near what it would cost to do that,” Crossman said.

“I know, in light of our financial situation — and Gov. David Paterson’s forecast is bad for this year and next year — that these avenues have to be explored, but more money would be needed.”

Feeley agreed, saying the $2.9 million “is only one element necessary for the project to move forward.”

He said planning, engineering, design and cost projections, as well as the county’s expected contribution to the construction, would have to be worked out.

ASSISTED CARE

Crossman said he fully supports assisted-living programs where patients obtain help for limited medical needs for a fixed time then return to their homes to remain independent.

Rather than people hiring a private nurse or having a relative with no expertise help in their care following surgery, for example, the clients could have assisted care for a few weeks until they are strong enough to return home, he said.

“My primary concern is to bring some sort of assisted care because we have so little of it in the North Country,” he said, adding that such service can be costly out of pocket.

And that leaves a good number of needy people on fixed incomes with fewer care options, he said.

In related news, the Medical Center was also awarded $325,683 in HEAL NY funding to relocate and expand an existing primary-care outpatient clinic into a standalone open-access primary-care health center.

E-mail Denise A. Raymo at:

draymo@pressrepublican.com