Editor:

Orleans County Legislator Lynne Johnson’s letter regarding the proposed privatization of the county nursing home did not answer any questions – It simply raised more.

First, let us be clear, this has been a political issue from the outset. The county government has taken steps over the past few years to sell the public on the idea of privatization. They have done it with fuzzy math and twisted facts and gimmickry like the “truth in taxation” addition to property tax bills.

While the fiscal stability of the county nursing home is uncertain, the reality is that there will be an increase in demand for nursing home beds over the next decade. That is why there are buyers for all these public nursing homes – because they are valuable institutions.

Our government is designed to serve the will of the people. If the people of Orleans County wish their tax dollars to go toward paying for the nursing home then it is the county government’s job to make that happen, not use scare tactics like Ms. Johnson’s implication that if they don’t sell the nursing home it will close. In fact, there is a much greater chance that it will close with a private owner than if it is publicly owned.

In addition, Ms. Johnson ignores the impact on the local workforce. A private employer will balance their profits on the backs of underpaid workers.

Finally, let’s compare the handling of the OTS bus service to the nursing home. Even though the bus service is a perennial money loser and heavily subsidized, no one has suggested we end the bus service. In fact, the county authorized the building of a bus garage that will cost over $1 million dollars at the same time they bemoan “state mandates.”

The bus service cannot be sold because it doesn’t make money. It is kept because it serves our citizens and fulfills a need in our community. Cannot the same be said for our nursing home?

Jeanne Crane
Waterport

(Crane is chairwoman of the Orleans County Democratic Party)

Editor,

I wrote what I thought was an observational note on the pending sale of the county nursing home. It was answered by an individual who made me think of someone who I greatly admire. Ronald Reagan, speaking about liberals, once said, “The trouble with our liberal friends is not that they are ignorant; they just know so much that isn’t so.” I do not know this individual’s political leaning, but the sentiment applies.

His personal theories were stated as fact; false assumptions were made then built upon and I have to question some of the conclusions arrived at in this circuitous manner.

A few notes and observations. I have NEVER read “frequently asked questions” at the county website. I DO trust the stewardship of the present county legislators based not upon naivety but upon the leadership they exhibit in most of their actions. Outlining and trying to reduce state mandates comes to mind. I presently have a 91-year-old loved one in assisted living. I am loathe to distribute personal information but statements that are not true need to be corrected.

Having said that, if an individual can be so wrong at the beginning of an editorial, what must we conclude about the rest of it? Making a declarative statement does not insure its accuracy or veracity. If memory serves, Wimpy continually stated that he would gladly pay Popeye next Tuesday for a hamburger today. I doubt if Popeye saw dollar one. Nevertheless, Wimpy kept on making statements of a declarative nature.

I do not know if this fella is a nursing home administrator, but he put out a lot of technical detail. At one point he stated that we have county specialists who insure that we can provide services economically. I feel compelled to point out that if this were true, we would not be engaged in a countywide discussion on the nursing home’s future. There was a repeated implication that private firms are not to be trusted. I have no idea why. Private firms run a large percentage of the nursing homes across the nation. I also could not help but notice a negative emphasis on the word “profit.” This fella has to be enjoying the profit produced by either self-employment, or produced by a firm that employs, has employed or is providing a pension to him.

I digress. My point in asking for a slot in the letters to the editor section is to correct misstatements made about me personally. It amazed me that, although incorrect, this individual knew what was in my mind, the minds of the legislators, the minds of the employees of the yet unannounced private nursing home operator, the minds of county residents and even the minds of the dedicated county employees presently working at the nursing home. I am amazed he can keep all these “facts” straight.

It bears repeating: The nursing home is not going anywhere (subject to the dictates of Obamacare). Patient care regulations that apply now, will apply in the future. Private providers are better at managing money than the county or any governmental agency for that matter. Competent, knowledgeable, concerned employees, whether public or private, are competent, knowledgeable, concerned employees. Orleans County will have oversight regarding any decisions made by a private firm.

Thank you editor for this second bite at the apple,

Paul J. Blajszczak
Medina, NY

Editor:

The State Supreme Court decision recently upholding the legality of the formation of the LDC to sell and privatize the Orleans County Nursing Home was very disappointing to the members of the Concerned Citizens group, but it wasn’t unexpected. And it won’t stop our effort in the least!

This is a group of hard-working, caring, and committed people who decided to draw a line in the sand. No, they do not want our County nursing home privatized. They don’t want the care and well-being of our elderly people opened up to possible charlatans and profiteers who might come in and promise the moon in this community and deliver very little. And the facility, if it is privatized, could be sold over and over again.

We don’t care that half the state of NY has decided to privatize their nursing homes because we believe that all counties were approached by the same profiteers, and we have clearly seen that the result of this has been less good options for seniors. Right now because the facility is public, the people of this community do have a say in what happens. It won’t be the case if it is privatized.

We also don’t feel that the county will save any money if the facility is privatized. When you consider the renovation costs we will be saddled with and the taxpayer subsidies we will be forced to give the new business, that alone will eat up any savings. And then add in the Medicaid costs that we will continue to be responsible for (which will remain unchanged, if not increase), and now subtract the income that used to come to the county which will now be going to the new owner, where will the savings be the Legislature speaks of? The truth is that if the facility is privatized, there won’t be any collective sigh of relief that our taxes have gone down. We likely will never know what the outcome is financially, but the community WILL suffer the loss of this public nursing home. Good quality nursing homes are very hard to come by and we currently have an excellent one.

One nursing home is NOT the same as another. And when you consider that a few more changes to the nursing home, such as opening up the A and B wings for more productive use could help with the bottom line, you can see that all options have not been explored prior to the decision to sell.

The court case was mainly introduced because the Concerned Citizens group would like to see a referendum take place on the issue of the sale of the nursing home. Had the court decision gone in our favor and a referendum ordered, the county may have found it necessary to appeal against allowing a vote of the people! That referendum was not ordered by the court as we had hoped, but it can happen despite that.

We feel that an issue this important – that will impact all of us for many years to come, and considering that a large number of people have actually mobilized to fight the sale – that the only fair way to resolve the issue is to put this before the voters to decide.Once this nursing home is sold, we will never get it back. I understand that Legislator Callard may have said that a referendum would be too expensive, but if you have a large number of constituents upset about a decision, what other method would allow the community to weigh in properly? That option is available because of situations such as this one.

The Legislature is supposed to serve their constituents, and clearly a good number of them are at this point unhappy with their decision. Let the voters decide! This way, whatever happens, everyone will have a voice. And this county nursing home belongs to us all.

Chris Loss
Albion, NY

Editor:

On Thursday June 27 I attended a baseball game at the ball field behind the Albion Town Hall to support and watch my grandson. I was expecting to cheer him and his team on, hopefully to victory and to have a good time. What I witnessed made me sick to watch – a screaming match between coaches and parents. Your behavior was shameful and wrong.

Coach – your job as coach is to be a leader. To teach the rules of the game, to show good sportsmanship, to be encouraging and a positive role model to them. To teach them how to be a good winner and a good loser. To play fair. They saw you harassing the umpire for most of the game. I sat in the bleachers next to the concession stand, so I could not hear all your words but those I did hear were not positive or encouraging to your players. They were rude and negative. Your words to other parents were disgusting and disgraceful. SHAME ON YOU.

Parents – I witnessed you screaming filth to each other. Making threats to each other. Calling each other names while your children watched and heard you. It was shameful. As the primary teacher of your child what are you teaching them. No child should have to watch a parent, especially their parent acting badly. To watch them harass and be verbally abusive to others. To be cruel and mean and hateful. How sad for them. SHAME ON YOU.

Umpire – I think you made a good call when you called the game. No one should have to put up with the verbal abuse, bullying and the harassment that was hurled at you.

I watched players standing and sitting on the field with their shoulders hunched, their heads down crying while you were carrying on. This was a game. A simple baseball game and you ruined it for them. You destroyed the end of the season for them because you could not control yourself. How sad for them. I saw adults standing there with tears in their eyes. I saw people grabbing their small children and leaving so they did not have to watch you and be afraid for themselves and their little ones. I left also in disgust at what I witnessed.

It is my understanding that the management or commissioners have come to a decision. The season is over FOR THESE TWO TEAMS, which I agree with. They also decided to support the coach who was abusive, with a foul mouth and displayed no sportsmanship. If this is correct my question to you is, “What standards do you hold your coaches to?” As for the coach who removed his team to the far side of the field and stayed with them and kept his mouth shut. He is being removed from his coaching position. What a message you are sending to the community? That this type of disgraceful behavior is acceptable to you. Maybe you should think about removing yourself from your position as commissioner. This type of behavior is not acceptable. Now or ever. SHAME ON YOU.

Dorothy Morgan
Holley, NY

Dear Editor:

I’m writing this letter because I am disappointed in our political system. Judge Punch recently ruled that the transfer of the county nursing home to the LDC in order to sell it to a for-profit company is legal. It may be legal, but it is not a wise decision for our community. Concerned Citizens is seeking a referendum that would allow the people of the community to make the decision. It would be sad if our community voted to sell the nursing, but I would accept it.

Most everyone I speak to is against the sale. I’ve attended information meetings from both sides, had many conversations in my personal life and have volunteered to work Concerned Citizens booths. In fact, after a conversation at the booth, a man shared that he was for the sale, but was going to revisit the information. We encouraged him to read all perspectives.

I do not feel that our officials are encouraging people to explore multiple perspectives. I have spoken to several legislators about this issue, and two minimized the issue blaming it on employees at the nursing home and Obama Care. I was disappointed in their responses

I attended an informational meeting at the Mason’s in Albion on June 11th. Chuck Nesbitt, our County’s CAO, presented a case for why the county nursing home had to close. When he was done I felt like he was using the “facts” to build a case to convince us that it is impossible to make the nursing home viable. He used a statistics about Obama Care cutting $750 billion dollars from Medicare. This “fact” was one of the false claims used many times during our recent presidential campaign.

Later in the presentation he explained that the Inter-Governmental Transfer (IGT) could not be counted on. The IGT is a fund that reimburses much of our financial losses. He explained in detail a series of events that stopped the transfers for a period. When he got to the date, it was irrelevant to our current conversation. Yes, it may be an issue again, but it was not what I was imagining during his explanation. I was disappointed and left not trusting what are officials are saying about the nursing home.

This issue highlights how an ethical presentation of ideas is not a part of our political system at any level of our government. Most people feel powerless. People tell me, don’t bother; they’ll do what they want in the end. As a citizen in our democracy I feel an obligation to stand up when government fails the people. Our local government is failing us. I believe that if we want to figure it out, we use our American ingenuity and figure it out.

Concerned Citizens will continue to work for a referendum. We are asking our fellow citizens to listen to multiple perspectives and then make a decision. We will support any decision made by our community.

Betty Garcí­a Mathewson
Albion, NY 14411

Editor:

I have been an active member of The Concerned Citizens of Orleans County since February. I spoke at the public hearing. My husband and I have been traveling for quite some time out west with family. Keeping up with what has been happening back in New York has been a challenge. News coverage is scant. Those with whom I have been in contact say that the Medina paper has said little about our opposition to the sale of ‘The Villages of Orleans,’ our county-owned and operated nursing home.

None of our group’s leadership seems to have ever spoken to the Journal-Register reporter. The only article on one (out of six) of our peaceful protests made it seem as though we are all CSEA members. Actually, only about a dozen CSEA folks help us. One time, the union got about two dozen people out to one of the protests at which there was a total of 60 people. But none of the Concerned Citizens is active in any union that I know of. Several are Republicans and some are registered Conservatives. Three, I know, are Tea Party people.

On Monday, June 24th, a Journal-Register article did not mention that our court case asked that the people of Orleans County be allowed to vote on the sale of ‘The Villages’ nursing home. That was our biggest hope. We paid for the lawyer with our own money. Over two thousand dollars came from the proceeds of our spaghetti dinner.

There seems to be little freedom of the press in our county. And it seems really strange that the only printed media source in Orleans Countybased in our largest incorporated villagehas elected to almost totally disregard letters sent to it voicing opinion about the proposed sale of ‘The Villages’one of the most important issues facing all of our county residents in many, many years.

There has been little to no coverage of the ongoing efforts of local residents from all over the county to protest the proposed sale and to keep our nursing home under county ownership. Wethe Concerned Citizensare NOT the CSEA. We are simply Orleans County residents trying to keep one of our greatest county assets from being taken away from us. Our main ‘concern’ is for the continued excellent care of our most elderly county residentsboth those who now live in The Villages and those who may one day have to leave their own homes and go to live there.

Kay Walter
Albion, NY

Editor:

With regard to the State Supreme Court decision announced last week, it seems to me everyoneincluding Chairman Callardshould keep some things in perspective. A good judge can only do what he feels the law allows. In this case, he did not say he approved of it, or that selling Our County Nursing Home was something that should be done. He didn’t say it was right. He said what the Legislature did was legal and nothing more. The law may allow the Legislature to dispose of a 180-year-old county-owned asset without consulting the public. In their “Frequently Asked Questions,” county leaders admit they used the LDC law to avoid dealing with public opinion.

The Concerned Citizens of Orleans County are not going to give up because of a ruling we anticipated. It is not over. Giving up would guarantee the loss of another wonderful asset to a private operator. What we would gain from selling it does notin the view of many Concerned Citizens with first-hand family experiencecompare to what we would lose.

Dave Callard is hardly one to be cautioning anyone else on fiscal responsibility. In one of the best decisions the Legislature has made in years, we approved a $10,000,000 Nursing Home renovation by a vote of 5-2. He voted against the renovation that made Our Nursing Home marketable today! It also brought us millions in added, annual, and continuing Medicaid reimbursement. His disinterest in renovating the old “A” and “B” wings in 2008 displayed a similar lack of business sense. Had “A” and “B” wings been upgraded, they would have been earning Our Nursing Home some needed revenue since then.

The majority has been adept at losing taxpayer money for the past 13 years. At the time of her blistering letter in late 2012, a 35-year county employee estimated the county had lost about $4 million by privatizing Mental Health billing before 2004. Hundreds of thousands were lost on the privatization of the visiting nurse service in 2009.

Is what we are seeing today really about fiscal discipline? Rather than spending taxpayer money to maintain a county-controlled, Four Star, skilled nursing home, we appear to be willing to turn over millions of taxpayer dollars to a private operator! The Chairman has twice (2005 and 2008) opposed investing in a county-owned asset but has reveled in the opportunity to spend taxpayer resources to promote private enterprise in Medina.

On other fronts the majority has been equally irresponsible. In 2008-2009, they refused to seriously cut their own salaries while the cost of legislator health insurance benefits was skyrocketing. Because they refused to lead by example, they have been unable to be strong in employee negotiations. That, too, displays a lack of fiscal responsibility. (When I pushed for a firmer stance in 2008, I was asked, “Do you want to walk through picket lines?”)  This shortcoming has contributed to unnecessarily high operating expenses in many county departments.

Sending the “Continuing Day Treatment Program” to Genesee County in 2012 arguably could cost taxpayers money as well. It appears to have been an attempt to dramatize the issue of so-called “unfunded mandates.” We are all on the “hook” for whatever it ends up costing.

Selling our County Nursing Home comes with a huge cost that is being downplayed by county leaders. These are the same people who told you there wasn’t room on your tax bills to itemize any other expenses!

In short, the situation we find ourselves in today is the result of years of questionable decision-making.

Sincerely yours,

Gary Kent
Albion, NY

(Kent is a former county legislator.)

Dear Editor:

Mr. Blajszczak may have read the County’s “Frequently Asked Questions” and accepted them at face value. His faith in County leaders who have let him down for many years is refreshingly naïve.

His second paragraph begins, “First, the county nursing home is not going anywhere.” No one I know has said it is going to disappear, at least in the short term. Actually, if people do not start paying more attention, it absolutely is going somewhere.  Thinking it is not is like saying Charlie Howard’s Santa Claus school is still functional because his home and some other remnants of it are still at the original site.

Yes, Mr. Blajszczak, the regulators will be there checking. If deficiencies become more numerous, they will be noted. If the County Nursing Home’s Three Star rating for staffing declines, it will be reported.  If its Four Star rating for overall quality of care is lost, they will put it on state and federal websites.  But, a nursing home will still be thereunless the new owners decide finding enough private pays in Orleans County is impossible, and they decide to turn it into an assisted living facility.

In the interests of profit, the new owner may replace long term care beds with more profitable rehab beds and begin “mining” hospitals in Buffalo for big bucks Medicare – eligible folks, some of whom might be better suited to hospice care.

Mr. Blajszczak might not realize that each additional rehab bed means one less long-term care bed for an Orleans County resident. That is an inescapable fact. He may be certain that neither he, nor any close friends or family members will ever need long-term care. His comments make it clear that he has great faith in the altruism of private nursing home operators.

He may be under the impressionas many County leaders appear to bethat if you have seen one nursing home you have seen them all. He should call any of at least a dozen “Concerned Citizens” with first hand experience to rid himself of that delusion.
Mr. Blajszczak’s third paragraph is 100 percent spot on.

His fourth paragraph suggested prompting from a “spinmeister.”  “Firms” with slick specialists no doubt understand all the angles.  They get paid to meet minimum requirements as cheaply as possible. They know how to charge residents for basic services, install vending machines, and eliminate Sunday pie. Fortunately for Orleans County residents, the County employs Orleans County specialists, not County Legislators, to provide services economically.

Mr. Blajszczak hit one nail squarely.  A private operator would never have let the old “A” and “B” wings go for five years without turning them into income producing space. Doing so in 2008 would have improved the bottom line and business-savvy types know it. Keep believing someone else will safeguard your interests.

In paragraph five, Mr. Blajszczak repeats an absolutely unfathomable assertion in light of what for-profit facilities are all about. I would ask him to identify one visiting nurse working for H.C.R. who was working for the County prior to that giveaway.

Reading his final paragraph makes me wonder whether he thinks this is all some sort of experiment with a 180-year-old asset.  Does he think we can just start over if it doesn’t work as advertised? After a few decades, you can try leasing a car. If you decide you would rather go back to owning your own, you are free to do so. Selling Our Orleans County Nursing Home to a private operator isn’t quite like that. If it doesn’t work satisfactorily, there will be no “do-overs.

Sincerely,

Gary Kent
Albion, NY

Editor’s Note: The letter above was written in response to a ‘Letter to the Editor’ posted on June 20. Click here to read Mr. Blajszczak’s letter.

Dear Editor:

Regarding Legislator Lynne Johnson’s statement on the nursing home That sounded like she was giving The Villages acknowledgement as well as a “thank you” for the care of her father-in-law. Could the rest of our community have that same chance if the time comes or will she participate in trying to sell our opportunity?

Johnson suggested our population is under 50,000.  She thinks we are too insignificant to work on this matter and should just privatize The Villages. And if Orleans County taxpayers want to be among the 6 percent of “locally owned nursing homes” we can’t or shouldn’t be?

You don’t seem to mind that our small county pays you well for a part-time job with benefits that allow you to be in any nursing home you might desire.  Does the money the legislators think they are saving go back to pay higher administrator’ salaries?  What did happen to the funds ‘saved’ with the cuts from mental health? Did those clients matternot very many of them?

Orleans County taxpayers want you as well as the other legislators to represent them. Listen to what they are saying. Find solutions like fixing “A” and “B” wings so they can bring in some money. When will that happen?  After some owners from another state take it over? We are aware of what privatizing is doing to Orchard Manor. Are you?

Grace Denniston’s letter (May 29th)
The Office of the Inspector General of the Health & Human Services Department reported: “For-profit SNF’s (skilled nursing facilities) were far more likely than nonprofit or government SNF’s to bill for expensive levels of care, raising concerns about the validity of the claims.”

McKnight’s Long-Term Care News stated: “Nursing Homes owned by private investors and other types of for-profit operators had more total deficiencies than homes run by public companies, according to a new report.”

Are The Villages the sacrificial lamb because the other departments working at a loss can’t be cut? Don’t we have a right to know how money we get later from the Medicaid and Medicare affects the loss? Have you seen the demonstrators in the snow, sleet and, rain? Signs across the county: SAVE THE VILLAGES! Letters to the news media with facts and figures are not responded to. There is no way to solve a problem if you do not work on it. The community wants the chance to vote on the issue. Do our legislators not want to let us vote?

Grace Kent
Albion, NY

Editor:

I want to express my admiration for the mother who had the strength and courage to surrender her newborn baby at the Medina fire station. How difficult to make that choice.

Imagine what it must feel like to go into a fire station, not knowing anyone there, totally confused, frightened, about to “give up” your new baby.  If this does not take a tremendous amount of bravery, then I don’t know what does!

Putting the needs of your child above your own desires and emotions is a selfless and loving choice.

What a heroic gift of life that a biological mother can make not only to her child, but also to “would-be” adoptive parents. It gives the promise of a happy life to the couple who couldn’t otherwise have a baby. That unselfish love is the essence of life. How extraordinary; how beautiful!

“Birthmother” I admire your strength and courage in not only choosing adoption but choosing life for your child.

Kudos to the Medina Fire Department and this wonderful Safe Haven Program!

Barbara Vreeland
Medina, NY