Last week, NorCo Exec Tara Zrinski delivered her first "State of the County" address at Bethlehem's Nation Museum of Industrial History. Though unable to attend, I did watch her address on Facebook and wrote about it. Zrinski has also just posted her speech on her Substack, including all the photos she used.
What I like best among these images is her plan for the Gracedale campus. She plans to convert the existing facility, which crams four residents into a room, into aging-in-place apartments. There would also be a 700-bed skilled nursing facility, medical offices, a dialysis center (Gracedale currently does dialysis in house), a retail center and workforce housing. There appears to be no interference with any of the existing farmland.
Without question, this is an ambitious project and merits very close scrutiny. But if the county wishes to continue to provide a nursing home, it is necessary. The existing Gracedale facility was built for a different time. While four residents in one room is still permissible, the trend is to reduce occupancy to two.
The existing facility could easily be converted into apartments for seniors and the disabled who wish to age in place. I could see getting HUD involved and using the Housing Authority to manage this building.
There are lots of questions to be considered. But this plan is an excellent starting point.
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