Skip to main content

Report: Don't sell the nursing home

By Howard B. Owens

Keep it. At least for now.

That's the recommendation of a consultant hired by Genesee County to study the legislature's options for dealing with the increasingly expense-draining county nursing home.

Rochester-based Center for Governmental Research turned over a report this week to the county that said it's not a good time to sell public facilities and the county may not achieve sufficient returns from such a sale.

Genesee County faces an aging population, continued rising expenses and an uncertain future of federal funding for the nursing home. Those same factors would likely keep down the price a private buyer would be willing to pay for the home.

And the county would lose control of the facility and have no recourse if a private owner no longer used the home as a "safety net" for disadvantaged seniors.

There are numerous problems for the home going forward, CGR concludes, and recommends a number of changes in operation of the home.

It also recommends establishing a Nursing Home Board to oversee the operations of the home.

The full 121-page report is available by clicking here.

John Roach

I said from the beginning, that while I think it needs to be sold, I thought we should all wait until the study was done.

I understand that they might not get a good deal if they try to sell it now and I have no argument with not selling it now.

You did notice, they did not say selling it was a bad idea? They said not now and that some other things should be done. Of course there may be more information in that study we have not seen.

Dec 7, 2010, 3:17pm Permalink
Bea McManis

Howard, thank you for posting the entire report. It made for interesting reading. It validates much of what we argued from day one.
It outlined suggestions that are timely and beneficial to the home and the county budget.
Thanks again.

Dec 7, 2010, 4:50pm Permalink
Ricky G. Hale

I said it before, and I'll say it again; government has no business being in business.

More and more, the government is sticking their nose into the free enterprise system. More and more, the government is taking control of businesses. More and more, the government is chiseling away at private entrepreneuring. More and more, the government is taking away the rights and freedoms of its own people.

Wake up people. Have you forgotten history? This is the foundation of socialism !!!

Dec 7, 2010, 6:30pm Permalink
Bea McManis

Ricky,
I take it you find the findings of the study wrong. Can you go down, point by point of their final suggestions and point out where they erred in their ways?

Dec 7, 2010, 7:11pm Permalink
Jennifer Keys

It seems that the people who spoke up helped to prevent the County from making a mistake that they appeared to be set on making until the noise was made.

Nice job, Chris, and everyone who spoke up!

Dec 7, 2010, 9:16pm Permalink
C. M. Barons

There must be some neutral ground within the haze of political isms to redeem the citizenry of Genesee County (and elsewhere) seeking to provide affordable care for their elders. To label every community action in support of those in need as "socialist," well, Buddha, Christ and Clara Barton must have been pretty subversive... The essence of government is to accomplish what is best accomplished mutually. Paring-down government to nothing more than national defense would render this nation on par with Bolivia. Perhaps that is appealing to some... Then, again; maybe there are untold legions eager to take in our county's aged, impoverished, ill and homeless. While they are at it, they can operate the sewer plants, plow the roads and chase pigeons from idle properties.

Dec 8, 2010, 2:15am Permalink
Bea McManis

I find it ironic that people who probably will not spend the rest of their lives in Genesee Co. are fixated on eliminating two county functions that are ahead of their time.
Genesee Co. Nursing Home
"The County Nursing Facility, as noted earlier, offers to some extent a ―continuum of care‖ on a single campus, ranging from the presence of an adult day care program to an adult home to a nursing home. In some cases seamless transfers occur between the levels of care, with residents moving from adult home to nursing home levels of care, and vice versa, and in some cases being referred from the adult day care program to one of the institutional levels of care. Genesee County is one of only a handful of counties in the state to provide a publicly-operated adult home and to offer such a continuum of county-operated long-term-care services in one location."
http://photos.thebatavian.com/files/nursinghomereport.pdf

Re: Genesee Justice
"But Wittman persisted. He applied for more grants -- during his tenure, Wittman brought in more than $6 million to expand and fund Genesee Justice -- and implmented new programs.

These included:

•Victim's Assistance
•Judicial Diversion
•Justice for Children
•Child Advocacy
•Justice for Women
•Release Under Supervision (a Probation Department program until 2002)
•DWI-Conditional Discharge (a brainchild of District Attorney Lawrence Friedman)
But it would be restorative justice that would grab national headlines, making both Dennis Wittman and Genesee Justice household names in the restorative justice community"
http://thebatavian.com/blogs/howard-owens/genesee-justice-story/22423

Dec 8, 2010, 8:04am Permalink
John Roach

Only one person, Peter, has said he will move when he can and has also said sell the home. So, who are these "people"? Did we make this up?

In fact, there might be people who think keeping the Nursing Home is a good idea that are also planning on moving. How would you know?

Dec 8, 2010, 11:32am Permalink
Julie Morales

And, there might be people who are NOT planning on moving right now, but will end up moving in the future, who think keeping the nursing home is a bad idea NOW, but will then think it’s good, then change their minds, and even move back, undecided.

Who cares, John?? Your constant picking at Bea is well beyond old.

Dec 8, 2010, 12:57pm Permalink
Peter O'Brien

John,
She does this constantly. She refers to others or people when referring to me because the last time she did, she got in trouble. This way she can deny she was talking about me.

Bea,
I live here and pay taxes now, so my opinion is just a valid as yours. Until I move this is where I vote.

Shut it down and stop progressive initiatives that put the government in competition with private businesses.

Dec 8, 2010, 2:21pm Permalink
Kyle Couchman

Yeah Peter....sure we will stop the progressive initiatives that put Govt in competition with businesses. Just as soon as businesses stop competeing with the Govt for Govt business.

Flip the coin once in a while and look at the other side.

Dec 8, 2010, 4:35pm Permalink
Jeremiah Pedro

Kyle- is the Govt. suppose to not do business with anyone then? Since Peter says the Govt. shouldn't be competing with private business and you say the business should not be competing with the Govt., who is going to be doing any business then?

Dec 8, 2010, 6:27pm Permalink
Kyle Couchman

LOL Jeremiah....it was sarcasm to a point. Something I hear alot lately is people wanting polititcians who run Govt like a business instead of politics as usual this was just expanding on that.

Dec 8, 2010, 11:35pm Permalink

Authentically Local