Before he left, former NorCo Council member John Brown predicted that the County would be asked this month to contribute between $10-15 million in taxpayer funds so that Gracedale could balance its books for 2025. In her first report to County Council, Exec Tara Zrinski conceded that a contribution would be needed.
Tonight, a Budget Amendment is being sought and it includes Gracedale. The supporting documents are not yet posted so it's unclear how much Gracedale will need. We'll know tonight.
In addition, Council will be provided with updates on open concerns about the nursing home, which now operates with a CMS rating of just one star (much below average) and a provisional license.
In my view, the county has failed to make long-range plans for the home. It still packs residents four to a room. Since the onset of COVID and the mass resignations, it has failed to recover staffing and is overly reliant on outside nursing care. The problems are summarized quite nicely in a comment someone anonymously made yesterday:
"Gracedale situation is critical. A management company is your best bet however be prepared this won't happen overnight. The staffing problem is such the census should be cut and that likely won't happen. Cedarbrook many years ago closed a wing and made it into I independent living. When staffing got low other units were temporarily closed. They had a long term plan for a new wing in the works for 20 years that is now happening. Council received letters outlining the problems years ago and ignored them. Brown listened and actually started making improvements but lost the election. Gracedale can't come back from this unless big changes are made by management with experience. May I also add although not popular the unions in nursing did not help the attitudes and poor decision making. Don't get me wrong there were many devoted staff who cared deeply about their residents as I'm sure there still are. This is not an easy situation to solve and will take years of commitment. The buildings are old with little investment in making them marketable in today's world. They do take people no one else will but that has led to their problems as easily seen in the provisional license status. Secured separate units for behavioral issues must be considered if they are to continue to take these residents. Staffing adjustments also need to be made. Running a home on basically agency staff is a disaster waiting to happen. I feel badly about the present situation, but I can say I personally tried to help and despite it all no one wanted to hear anything, but what they wanted to hear. And here we are."
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