As a member of Northampton County Council, Lamont McClure led a successful fight to keep Gracedale, the County's nursing home, publicly owned. He was quoted often saying that the county has a "moral obligation" to maintain this safety valve. He ran for Executive on this issue as well. But the problems there, made far worse by the COVID pandemic, but this commitment to the test. It appears, however, that the County has turned the corner. According to the most recent rating by Medicare and Medicaid (not yet online), the home has jumped from a one-star ("much below average") in December 2021 to three stars ("average")
Medicare and Medicaid use a five-star system to rate nursing homes throughout the country. One star means you're "much below average" while five makes you the shizizzle. Early in McClure's first term, Gracedale had climbed to three stars ("average.") McClure said he was aiming for five.
Then came COVID.
Those were dark days for the McClure and Gracedale Administrator Jennifer Stewart-King. Gracedale's rating dropped from three to just one star, "much below average." In addition to a terrible rating, the home was plagued, not just with COVID and the tragic deaths that ensued, but an employee exodus brought about by refusal to get federally mandated vaccines against the pandemic. To make matters even worse, state and federal officials were considering a dramatic increase from 2.7 to 4.1 in the number of hours of nursing care that must be provided to residents daily. Another change being considered was a two-person room limit at a home where four in a room is the norm.
Gracedale had become a political football as well. GOP Exec candidate Steve Lynch conducted news conferences on the grounds, in which disgruntled ex employees savaged the home. Republican Council member John Brown asserted that the home was being managed poorly.
In March, I suggested it was time, once again, to consider the long-term viability of the home. How could it continue with a staffing exodus combined with a dramatic increase the amount of nursing care that must be provided daily?
Instead of giving up, McClure doubled down.
The first step was to reduce the number of residents at the home so that staffing minimums could be achieved. The second step was to increase a reliance on outside nursing agencies to provide care until staffing levels return to normal. The third step was a $2,500 bonus, paid annually, to attract and retain staff. Fourth, he proposed a free daycare for employees with children, which has been preliminarily approved by County Council. Most recently, he has suggested an in-house health center to provide primary care to all county staff, and with no co-pays.
In late January, Gracedale's rating increased from a pre-election one star ("much below average") to two ("below average"). By June, nursing care at Gracedale was finally begin to meet the state minimum standard of 2.7 hours of nursing care per resident per day. In late July, county officials learned that the new standard would be 2.87, far below the 4.1 hors per resident per day.
Just yesterday, county officials learned that Gracedale's newest rating is three stars ("average." It has made remarkable progress over the past year as it sailed through some choppy waters. This is a credit o both McClure and much maligned Administrator Jennifer Stewart-King.
What has really helped the home is its rating on health inspections, which is better than most homes. Staffing remains an issue, but that should resolve itself in time. The one area in which the home can do little is quality measures. Gracedale has a large population of residents who suffer from mental disorders and are treated with psychotropic drugs. Generally, it is a good idea to avoid the use of these chemical restraints. But in a home with a large population of these residents, it is actually unsafe to other residents and staff to ban them altogether.
McClure told me that many of the people at that home, and with those issues, would have nowhere else to go if Gracedale rejected them because of their issues.
24 comments:
Please, you have got to be kidding. We know you Love the guy, but this is silly. Peg Ferrao led the charge on Gracedale. McClure convinced no one on council to save Gracedale. The employees and Coalition's referendum saved Gracedale. John Stoffa's had the votes to sell it, Mr. Angle wrangled the five votes, but the goofy Stoffa's arrogant incompetence once again saved Gracedale.
McClure almost lost Gracedale and now it is where he found it five years ago. The council people advocated more for Gracedale in practice than McClure's speeches.
Ther guy is a poser and narcissistic speech maker. He blocks any attempt to review the problems at the Home and has threatened those who wish to revue salaries. This loving PR story they wrote for you is actually beneath you and shameful, even for a blogger.
The GOP praises Ronald Reagan as one of the best presidents ever to hold the office. It is Ronald Reagan that cut the funding for the mentally ill and closed down the state facilities like Rittersville. He also screwed the elderly on Social Security. My father and mother saw many of their senior benefits dry up under Reagan but the worst of those cuts came to those with mental disorders. Instead of treating them, these individuals became residents in our county prisons and jails. Now they are becoming residents in our County Nursing facilities and the Federal Government is cutting funding for public operating nursing homes. Thank you Ronald Reagan and the GOP.
Q) Why won't you or anyone else talk about per-patient cost?
A) Because it's stunningly high and taxpayers are being raped by a greasy lawyer.
You're not telling the whole story. That's good news for McClure, who still barely shows up to do any job, but has cashed every paycheck.
God Bless Jennifer King !
It’s Jennifer Stewart-King and she’s Gracedale Grown. If ya know ya know.
Put Maclure in charge of the Juvenile Prison. He will get that going.
Jennifer Stewart King is a top notch Boss.
I never trust anything that comes out of McClure or Gracedale Administration mouth. They need to be gone!
The Lynch Mob naysayers will not be happy about this! They needed this to fail. Politics 101. Hats off to the McClure administration for a slow-but-steady improvement.
Maybe Lori Heffner will stop being mean to Jen.
I think Lori is just jealous King is in those Gracedale commercials.
Vargo-Heffner is getting a reputation as a real mean piece of work. She worked very hard to undermine Tara’s Senate campaign. She is very hard on other women.
God Bless Lamont !
Lori is typical. She tears down other women instead of building them up. Her campaign against Zarinski probably contributed to her narrow loss.
Come on Bernie ! Monty gets zero credit for this. He couldn’t manage a sandwich board.
Watch how Lori treats Tara at Council... Go back and watch it on Hulu or whatever streaming platform they are on. Lori is totally disrespectful to them all, but she gets extra nasty to Tara.
I think Ron Heckman deserves a lot of credit here. He has changed the conversation both inside and out. The inside baseball that Lori wanted Stewart's head on a spike. Ron talked her off that ledge.
"The GOP praises Ronald Reagan as one of the best presidents ever to hold the office. It is Ronald Reagan that cut the funding for the mentally ill and closed down the state facilities like Rittersville. Not sue whether Reagan cut funding for mentally ill, but I KNOW that the decision tgo close state hospitals was made by Ed Rendell. He also cut the reimbursement rate at nursing homes.
It would be nice to know the cost per patient compared to other LTCFs. It's impossible to call this good news without information on the cost of compliance and improvement. Is this info being presented to council and/or are they asking for it? I manage money and budgets. I'd absolutely require this info. I hope they are. It would be nice to share it with taxpayers.
Nice summary on the council people Bernie
8:08, 8:29, 8:32, 8:36 & 8:37 are all the same person. Appears to be someone who hates Vargo-Heffner, loves Heckman and is attempting to claim credit on his behalf for the slow but steady improvement while trashing Vargo-Heffner and driving a wedge between her and Zrinski. Very weird. Could be Heckman (he'll deny), but I know from decades of experience on this blog that someone out there is a rabid Heckman supporter and gets deeply offended at any mention of his name that is not accompanied with all kinds of adulation.
Let's be clear about this.
It's no secret that Vargo-Heffner detests Zrinski. I see that at Council meetings all the time. She has good reason to detest her. Although Zrinski is getting better, she strays from county issues, will often ask questions on subjects that were just covered and to which she should know answers, insults the public all the time by refusing to use her microphone and is a rubber stamp for McClure instead of her own person. Heffner AND OTHER COUNCIL MEMBERS have publicly told Zrinski to stick to county issues. I will note Zrinski is improving.
Vargo-Heffner can be snarky at times, and I have called her out for it. She has been an effective Council President. She is willing to work with Rs and is fairly independent. She is no rubber stamp and is unwilling to be rushed into things. This has earned her the animosity of the McClure admin, but they should realize that Council is a separate branch of government.
Heckman has a tendency to wonder all over the place. He makes meetings last much longer bc of his tendency to talk all the time about the way things used to be. He also habitually refuses to use the microphone.
Lott is fairly sharp but is too much of a yes man for Lamont and is too unwilling to look out for the county worker. That's odd, considering he's a union guy. He may not be seeking re-election. He's absent way too often.
Kerry Myers is a blowhard who rarely listens, often contradicts himself, has an inflated opinion of his electability and was disgraceful in the way he treated a county employee and McClure at a meeting last year
Goffredo shows promise and appears to be learning. He is conservative but reasonable.
Tom Giovanni is the quiet one. He rarely speaks and appears to be a proponent of Lincoln's admonition that he'd rather be silent and thought a fool than speak out and remove all doubt. He has worked with Democrats, is conservative but fairly bipartisan.
John Brown thinks he is Mr. Business and Mr. Republican and thinks he already knows everything, even when the facts reveal something entirely different. He is courteous but flawed in his approach and is one person who fails to listen and fails to accept feedback that differs in any way from his preconceived notion.
Cusick is by far the best Council member. He knows the Charter as well as anyone there, is dedicated to CCAP issues. does his homework, is respectful, but is certainly no rubber stamp. A math teacher, he's a tad too wonkish, but he is his own person and has been responsible for much of the good things done by Council. He may not be seeking re-election, but I hope he runs for Controller.
For all the caring amazing actual hands on caregivers who have worked so hard to bring the home back to three stars which is was when mcclure first took over... congratulations to you! It has been a tough few years and your commitment does not go unnoticed. The credit goes to them Bernie. The home should never have dropped to one star before they finally took action. The closing beds and stopping admissions only came after they couldn't meet staffing numbers. They have not been proactive and that's how they got into the mess. And the plans for a health clinic etc still does not address the outdated facility and cost for the future. Lehigh county is building a new home as we speak. Administration has reacted and not once been proactive with the residents care and that is what the home is about! McClure arrogance and inability to trust people who cared about those residents is what got him into this mess in the first place. Give credit where it's due and it's not the administration it's the team of actual caregivers who deserve the credit.
BernieOHare to 8:58, you are incorrect. Gracedale was at two stars when McClure started as Exec, it had dropped to one star under John Brown.It went to three under him and then COVID hit. You are entitled to your own opinion but not your own facts.
https://lehighvalleyramblings.blogspot.com/2017/06/gracedale-rating-drops-to-just-one-star.html?m=1
https://www.thevalleyledger.com/?p=94948
The star rating was on hold at the time and was a three. Many administrations including Lehigh county takes credit for stars that in reality are inaccurate. Because the system was on hold the star showed once McClure was there but it was a three. This was a cms issue but my facts are indeed correct. But politicians spin it as they like. Good shepherd did the same thing with cedarbrook. Was a five star home but they took credit. My opinions and facts are indeed correct
As someone with a loved one suffering from mental decline at Gracedale, I appreciate all the advocacy various folks in government made. Above all, I'm thankful to all the workers who have taken care of my family during an incredibly difficult 2+ years. It's an underappreciated job and the care workers deserve all the recognition for caring for some of the most vulnerable folks in our society.
I voted to sell Gracedale. The voters spoke and they wanted to keep it. The people spoke and that's what they wanted. Instead of arguing who had what star rating how bout we get it running better for the sake of the residents there. That's what matters now.
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