Nursing Home

Here We Go Again on Albany County Nursing Home. Let’s Get Up to Date

March 13, 2012 County Government

Where, oh where to start on the latest round regarding a new Albany County Nursing Home? There are so many possibilities. Before getting into the very latest, let’s start by bringing those just joining us up to date. For the new folks, here’s the story so far. Albany County submitted a certificate of need application […]

Read the full article →

Franklin County Really Wants Out the Nursing Home Business

March 7, 2012 Budget

Franklin County is moving ahead with turning its Nursing Home over to a local hospital. From the Adirondack Daily Enterprise: Alice Hyde’s nursing home now has 75 beds and the county nursing home has 80. The new facility would have 135 regular beds plus space for 30 assisted-living residents, who don’t need as much care […]

Read the full article →

So What’s a New County Executive to Do?

February 26, 2012 Budget

Dan McCoy, Albany’s new County Executive will present his first State-of-the-County address this evening, March 5, 2012. What’s he going to say? Here’s my first prediction. Dan McCoy is going to call for selling the Albany County Nursing Home. Why, after building his political coalition among legislators and others, who overwhelmingly wanted to stay in […]

Read the full article →

County Operated Health Services & How We Got Here

February 16, 2012 County

County operated nursing homes have a long history. They haven’t kept up with the changing environment. So even if a bit oversimplified, it’s worth taking a long view. First Generation. Non-Medical, Primarily County Funded Long before Medicare and Medicaid were established in the mid-1960s, county government provided classic public health and backstop services. Indeed, long […]

Read the full article →

Sell it Now!

February 14, 2012 County Government

So if New York does the right thing and tells Albany County that no, they cannot build a new money-losing nursing home, what happens next? And before the State acts, if the odds are say 50/50 or higher that the State will reject the application, what should be done in the meantime? Sell it. Sell […]

Read the full article →

Reader’s Digest Version on Albany County Nursing Home and Interactions of State Policies

February 13, 2012 County Government

Short version of previous posts, particularly here, on State Health Department practices and Albany County’s application to build a new nursing home that the County itself acknowledges is a money loser. The County’s own consultants projected a 52 percent operating loss in the third year of operation of a new facility. That’s $26 million per […]

Read the full article →

Albany County Nursing Home, Why New York Needs to Change How it Reviews Subsidized CON Applications

February 13, 2012 County Government

It’s time to end the practice by New York’s Department of Health of allowing county “commitments” to using local property tax increases to subsidize nursing home losses as a means to meet the financial feasibility criterion in the certificate-of-need process. This practice contradicts and undermines the State’s policy of slowing growth in property taxes. Such […]

Read the full article →

Remember “Stages of a Project”?

February 8, 2012 County Government

It appears that Schenectady County is moving ahead with building a new nursing home. Too bad. If it gets done, it will be just under the wire. The closer Schenectady has gotten to re-building, the more County leaders have made their discomfort explicit. Many will now say in private that it’s a mistake, but having […]

Read the full article →

The Albany County Nursing Home Soap Opera Continues: Episodes 4,564, 4,565, 4,566

December 16, 2011 County Government

Episode 4,564: When we last tuned in, the New York State Public Health and Health Planning Council had politely suggested that Albany County might want to re-evaluate its plans to build a new, ridiculously expensive Nursing Home. The rationale was that the State was about to issue new nursing home rates based on an entirely […]

Read the full article →

Albany County Budget Stands … as a Document … Stay Tuned for Reality

December 15, 2011 Budget

As we noted earlier, Mike Breslin, the retiring Albany County Executive vetoed a number of legislative changes to his proposed budget. They would have had the unusual effect of increasing property taxes because he vetoed increased revenue estimates and new forms of “savings.” This past evening, by a very close vote (two-thirds of the members […]

Read the full article →

← Previous Entries

Next Entries →