Funding cuts have turned county-run nursing homes in many states into an endangered species in the past couple of years resulting in multiple facility closures, but one county is taking several steps to keep its nursing home open and, eventually, profitable.
Pennsylvania counties have been steadily selling off or closing their nursing homes, according to the Pennsylvania Association of County Affiliated Homes, and only 33 county owned and operated facilities remain in 28 counties, says a recent PennLive article.
โSome counties decided a county nursing home is very much a part of their mission. Even if it operates at a deficit, they think thatโs a good use of county taxpayer dollars,โ Mike Wilt, the associationโs director, told PennLive. โOther counties feel differently about it, and after many years of losses, they decide itโs time to sell.โ
Cumberland County, which runs the in Carlisle, Pa., is hoping to avoid the need to sell the facility by expanding its service offerings, reports PennLive.
The county commissioners have already negotiated a new union contract that includes nursing home employee concessions amounting to $800,000 in a bid to keep the facility open, but that wonโt be enough.
A combination of rising operational expenses and flat Medicaid reimbursements, which account for 80% of the nursing homeโs income, have hit Claremont hardโespecially in the last two years, says PennLive.
โYears of Medicaid shortfalls coupled with recent and severe Medicare cuts have forced many of our stateโs skilled nursing centers to reduce staff, freeze wages or reduce benefits, delay renovations, and delay purchases that could enhance care,โ Alison Everett, spokeswoman for the Pennsylvania Health Care Association, told PennLive. โThese funding cuts are causing the safety net to come apart at the seams.โ
Claremontโs reserves were tapped extensively in 2011 and 2012, standing now at about $2.7 million down from nearly $5 million. In order to staunch the losses, says the nursing homeโs administrator, Karen DeWoody, Claremont will expand its operations to generate more revenue.
This will include converting a former on-site daycare into a skilled rehabilitation unit, reports PennLive, that can serve both short-term patients and long-term residents in need of acute care.
While the new rehab facility will cost an estimated $1.7 million, funded by the nursing homeโs reserves, it will bring in Medicare dollars along with managed care money, according to the PennLive article. Once those funds are being produced, the county will then launch a second phase that includes more upgrades and care offerings.
The countyโs contract with the union also included an agreement to not sell the nursing home during the contractโs term, which expires in December 2015.
From: Senior Housing News