Daily Star Questionnaire: Otsego Manor

I just finished completing a platform questionnaire for the Daily Star.  I'll be posting the questions, and my answers.  Here's the first one.

Do you support the privatization of Otsego Manor? Why or why not?

Otsego Manor takes up a very substantial proportion of the County budget. This suggests that it is one of the most important things that Otsego County does. If this is not the case – if, after careful planning and prioritization of County functions by the Board, running a nursing home is not very high on the list – then the work of generating and considering options should begin.

First priority for this work is the current residents of Otsego Manor. Not only must we honor the written and unwritten commitments Otsego County has made to them, but they must understand this clearly and completely. The Otsego Manor committee must meet with residents and their families personally, throughout whatever process is chosen, and continue to assure them of the stability of their position at the Manor.

What this means is that the Board needs to articulate the difference between the County's commitment to current residents, and the County's view of nursing home services as a major priority in the future. We may decide that the latter is not something a County should be doing; nevertheless, that decision should have no substantive effect on the former.

If, in fact, the County decides that it should not be in the business of running a nursing home, privatization would seem the only option. However, as with the MOSA decision, there are varieties of privatization. As this issue evolves, we will learn a good deal more about how this might work. One thing I hope that we can remember throughout this process: the private sector has a single goal, which is to maximize profits for its stockholders. This often works well, but in human services, it often results in “collateral damage” - in people being left out. Decisions regarding the future of the Manor really have to be made with this in mind, and efforts need to be made to make sure that our older citizens do not become collateral damage.

Without having been close to the work and decision-making involved in running the Meadows and the Manor all these years, I would certainly like to learn more about all this before taking a definitive stand, but at this moment, it seems to me that, given the required commitment of resources, the County should not choose to be in the business of running a nursing home.