Support candidates who want nursing home to stay county-owned

Editor:

In preparation for the coming election I went door to door at Heritage Estates with another volunteer, Sharon Algeo. We were getting signatures in support of candidates for legislature who have committed to stopping the possible sale of our nursing home.

One of the residents of Heritage Estates had a guest visiting from Wellsville, NY. He wished us the best.  He said, “We lost our nursing home, now we only have an empty building.” He went on to share that a private corporation had bought their nursing home and a few years after they took over, they closed it because it wasn’t profitable.

This is the worst-case scenario we are trying to avoid. This is the nightmare that could happen in our community. There are people who want us to believe a sale is a done deal.It is not sold yet; it is not a done deal. If you believe it’s over before it is, we all lose. This is important enough that for this election I am a single-issue voter.

We are all busy with our own lives; it is hard to find time to pay attention to what the government is doing, and most of the time that is fine.  Most of the time, we can trust that our local officials are doing okay, and we can go about our lives. This is not one of the times!

I met another resident of Heritage Estates, an older woman whose husband had been at The Villages for about a year. She was happy with his care and could visit him often. What would she do if we sell The Villages and the company decides it doesn’t make enough profit? We have an empty building, and her husband is in Rochester or Buffalo.  She was old enough that this would be a major hardship.

I am asking my fellow Orleans County voters that if you would like to save The Villages for future generations of elders in our community, become a single-issue voter for this campaign. Vote for candidates on the Save the Nursing Home line, and two others endorsed by The Concerned Citizens of Orleans County.

Thank you for your concern,

Betty García Mathewson
Albion