The Future of the Manor

My apologies for the long absence from this blog – life tends to get complicated. As a friend says, “So this is retirement, is it?” Yes, it is. But everything I'm up to is something I've always wanted to do.

I have some more detailed information regarding the proposed parking lot on East and Bugbee, and I've been working on a series of posts detailing some of the committee work I'm involved in. They'll be finished, and up on this blog, within a month or so. But I wanted to make sure I said a word or two about the Manor today.

At today's Board meeting, much was accomplished. We hired a new Personnel Director for the county; we set an end date for our involvement in MOSA (April 30, 2013), and took the first step toward changing the Representatives' term of office from two years to four (Public Hearing 9:30 AM, Wed. Sept. 5, in the Board Room). But most importantly, I think, we took the first step in solving what is, on one hand, an exceptionally expensive problem, and on the other hand, a crucial part of the lives of many of our friends and neighbors.

I'll be back with more details, and update them as time goes on, but the single most important number to consider when discussion the Manor is 6 million. That's how many dollars, give or take, it takes, from the County budget, to bridge the gap between the Manor's revenue and its expenses every year. This is an major burden on the Otsego County taxpayer which is unsustainable, especially since revenues (mostly Medicaid and Medicare) are being reduced each year, and expenses are increasing.

The Manor Committee and Director Ed Marchi laid out options for the full Board this morning. They ran the gamut between making no changes and selling the building, with a couple of combination sale/lease options in the middle. The Board voted unanimously to negotiate a contract with a highly qualified consultant to lead us through the process and negotiate any changes we decide on.

As I said, more details later. But here's the bottom line for most, if not all, citizens of the County:

Public Health law prohibits us from displacing any residents of the Manor against their will, ever. So if the Manor is sold to an entity intending to use it for something other than a nursing home, they can't have it until every patient is placed, by their own choice. If they choose to stay, they can stay for the rest of their life. This makes the Manor unattractive to prospective buyers who want to use it for something else, and makes that kind of sale very improbable. But regardless of what the final disposition of the Manor is, current residents get to stay as long as they choose to.

We, the Board, affirmed our commitment to patient care as our first priority, and whatever happens, the quality of care will be our first priority in choosing among alternatives. At no point will the process be out of the Board's hands, so your Representative is the point person for questions, concerns and suggestions.

We all know how important it for the folks who live at the Manor to continue to be assured that their home will not be taken from them or changed substantially. We have an obligation to provide them with that assurance for as long as they choose to live there, and the Board is committed to doing that. Today, we started the process that will lead us to that goal, without having to continue to pay the massive subsidy required for the County to own and operate the buiding.