Ordinarily, Gracedale is just one of several departments covered whenever NorCo Council reviews human services. Several Council members are now suggesting the need for a separate committee just to cover the nursing home. In view of Executive Tara Zrinski's plan to expand operations there with medical offices, housing and even a retail strip, this is really necessary. In addition to considering the merits of this plan, millions in taxpayer dollars will almost certainly be needed to make up a deficit this year, Moreover, the county really needs to prioritize getting its Provisional II license back on track.
According to the PA DOH nursing home facility locator, there was a visit to Gracedale on May 14. But as of the time I write this story, inspection results are still unavailable. This visit likely was the result of both an elopement and contraband brought in by a resident. This is something Exec Tara Zrinski mentioned in her last executive report.
13 comments:
What ever happened to the Gracedale Advisory Board?
East solution - sell the white elephant
Does this group of elected officials understand the term “priority”? While they are planning committees and setting up groups, the clock is ticking on the provisional licensing failure.
You can’t fix the problem after the clock runs out, it doesn’t work that way. The executive won’t have a nursing home to manage if they lose licensing, no matter what plans she offers up.
Maybe they can make one for the jail. Lost another 5 officers this week.
Bad idea!! Just a way of hiding information from the public.
No offense to those who think a committee will help the Gracedale situation but A. Who will be on this committee and B. Who on council will believe them if the information they present to council is negative? You have had the nonbelievers in Kraft, Keegan and Warren who publicly shamed or admonished any commissioner(s) who even have suggested that Gracedale was in trouble dating back to the previous council members. Some still think those two potentially future high paid new hires will make it all better. Why not have David Holland as an advisor to or member of the QA team who is involved with compiling and then carrying out the plans of correction for the citations? It was so interesting (well almost funny) to hear Tara mention that even “root cause analysis was used” to write the plan of correction for these last citations. You mean they haven’t been doing that? Sheesh. That 5/14/2026 report is still not accessible so will have to wait on that information. It sounds as though you already know what it contains, though, Bernie. Gracedale city will have to wait as we wait to see if Gracedale survives.
"Maybe they can make one for the jail. Lost another 5 officers this week."
There's already a Courts & Corrections committee.
"Bad idea!! Just a way of hiding information from the public."
Why do you say that? I'm supportive of the idea because it should do the opposite -- get more information out into the public and allow for more oversight. The Human Services Committee meetings and the full Council meetings are too packed with other agenda items to allow for a robust discusion on Gracedale, and I'm hoping this new committee will allow for one.
It would be a simple report - Gracedale census as of the date of the meeting, staffing ratios, staffing status (agency vs Gracedale staff) DOH visits and outcomes since the previous meeting, Gracedale events for the residents. That would be a baseline administrator’s report, Jason. A committee of people who would have to be educated first in the LTC process is not feasible now, Jason. David Holland should be the go to guy and you see how he’s received. these days.Note that Gracedale will need millions in county contribution again this year. Adding another layer at this point is not a solution but it certainly makes for good publicity for the county executive/commissioners.
Gracedale is losing millions and will have to be subsidized by the taxpayers each year.
The proposal to “save” Gracedale and eliminating the need for Gracedale to be subsidized is an idiotic plan that will require ADDITIONAL TENS OF MILLIONS of dollars from the taxpayers to “expand operations there with medical offices, housing and even a retail strip”.
It will take months if not years to develop a plan, study it, hold hearings on it, and finally approve it. During that time, even more
MILLIONS will be required to cover the annual shortfalls at Gracedale.
Total up what all those millions come to.
Then tell me how much profit (that’s income less expenses) all these new entities will generate to eliminate future Gracedale subsidies and to pay back the cost of the new Gracedale Village. It will surely be done with borrowed money so add millions in interest to the tab as well.
Then consider the fact that nobody in county government has the ability to manage anything successfully, and that it’s very likely that county taxpayers will end up subsidizing both the nursing home and the new village in the future.
The lesson to all this: If you want to get out of a hole, Step #1 is to stop digging. That’s a universal truth that applies to everyone.
Apparently unless you’re in county government and playing with other people’s (the taxpayers’) money.
Jason the courts and corrections meeting is nothing but the DA, the public defender, and jerman Green fighting for the JJC. No one from the jail is gonna go over and tell the truth. As every administrator over there says " I'm not putting my job on the line for anyone. " So when you finally get a director or warden that isn't worried about getting fired maybe you'll get a true report.
And don't bring up having an officer get up and say anything. The last one that did Lamont personally tried to fire him.
And please people stop listening to Ken Kraft. He knows nothing.
May 14,2026 state report now available. It’s a doozy!
There was an Inter governmental Transfer program that produced a million dollars or more specifically for Gracedale, that has not been discussed by this council or executive. It helped protect taxpayers from using their money to support the home,
and it has either been used for other funding, or has been abandoned by them. Either way, it produced revenue for the home
and seems to have quietly disappeared.
There still is an IGT, but it arrives at irregular intervals. It has never been used for other funding, at least not to my knowledge. I t has been neither abandoned nor has it disappeared.
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