On Election Eve, Lynch Supporters Complain to Council About Gracedale

Unlike most nursing homes, Gracedale is publicly owned and gets quite a bit of oversight. In addition to the Administration on the campus, Executive Lamont McClure has taken a great deal of interest in the nursing home. He has often said he considers it a "moral obligation.":On top of that, there's a Gracedale Advisory Board made up of several citizens. Before the pandemic, residents were sometimes brought to meetings. Gracedale's Administrator reports to County Council's Human Services Committee once a month, both in writing and in person. If the news is bad, and sometimes it is, you read about it here. When family members are upset about visitation during the pandemic, they've had no qualms about making their concerns known to County Council. Finally, this home is under the state Department of Health's microscope. In addition to responding to anonymous complaints, health officials inspect the facility every year. It is very much in the public spotlight, as it should be. Unfortunately, at last night's County Council meeting, two disgruntled ex-employees complained about the terrible conditions at the home. They've never been to Council before. They waited for the last public meeting before the election. As you might have guessed, both are ardent Steve Lynch supporters.

The first complainer was Tonys DiPierdomenico. She quit over what she called the "unauthorized vaccine," even though there's no mandate in place. Then she tried to rescind her resignation, but Gracedale administrators said no dice. "You lost one of the best assets Gracedale ever had," she told Council. "I wasn't good enough because I didn't take the vaccine."  

She concluded by saying,  "I've been doing a lot of campaigning for somebody. God help us, We need him."

Obviously, she was there to play politics, not save Gracedale. .

The second disgruntled ex-employee was Stacy Soldo. She referred to an email she received from a nurse complaining about being short-staffed. It's impossible to know whether this complaint is true because the person who actually sent the email was not there to back her up.   

"I've never seen it this bad," said Soldo. Actually, she hasn't seen it at all.

She was fired as a Gracedale nurse. 

Perhaps she can explain why. 

In sever mailers, Republican County Council candidates have complained about conditions at Gracedal. in several mailers. That's certainly fair. The home, one of few that will accept nearly everyone, is currently rated by Medicare at just two stars, which is below average. They forgot to mention the home was rated at just one star when County Council candidate John Brown was Exec. That's OK. They are making political points. But unlike the Lynch mob, they understand the difference between governing and politics.