At their July 2 meeting, Northampton County Council voted to establish a Gracedale Oversight Committee proposed by Council member Dave Holland. As of today, Council President Ken Kraft has yet to appoint any members. Kraft, who opposed this committee, appears to be dragging his feet.
Under the Home Rule Charter, a council president has the authority to preside at meetings. As a matter of tradition, not law, he makes the committee assignments. Should he persist in refusal to appoint committee members to provide oversight at a nursing home with a Provisional II license, County Council has the authority to do it themselves.
Gracedale certainly needs oversight. According to McKinght's Long-Term Care News, occupancy at freestanding nursing homes is 86.7%, a 10-year high. (The Northeast, which includes Pa. and Gracedale, is at 89.5%). But the occupancy rate at Gracedale is an anemic 75%, as reported to County Council's July 2 Human Services meeting.
No surprise here. Kraft has always been oppositional when it came to Gracedale’s welfare. Ignoring this committee is the next best thing to tabling it and waiting for it to die from inaction.
ReplyDeleteI hope Kelly Keegan is Chairwoman. She’s an R.N., and she worked as a nurse at Graceland.
ReplyDeleteShe voted No to the committee, but I could see this happening. It is precisely the kind of vindictiveness that she attributes to other members of Council. I never heard her claim that she worked at Gracedale, but she did say that some of her colleagues at nursing school started their careers there.
DeleteGreat choice so long as every employee and resident shared her political views, otherwise who knows what kind of care could take place there.
DeleteShe never stated that she worked there. Kelly would only be an asset to this committee if she could drop her attitude about anything contrary to her beliefs about the status of Gracedale. We all remember how she fought with John Goffredo and John Brown over their concerns about Gracedale. It appears there was another DOH visit there in June. No citation but it was apparently a complaint that triggered that visit. Mr. Kraft appears to have no idea how to preside over this board of commissioners. I’m still wondering how an oversight committee or now a continuum of care director will help this situation at Gracedale. Fancy words (oversight and continuum) that mean nothing. Bring in a team to manage the facility. For some reason that logical solution is ignored. I wonder why.
DeleteJust eight months ago, Keegan said a widow would be better off without her murdered husband. She never recanted those words. It's not a stretch to think this is how she might feel about the families of the county's elderly. Who would trust her with any loved one's care? Is it possible to learn a given patient's party affiliation? That may place them in danger under Keegan.
Delete@10:54 This is an absurd and defamatory leap.
DeleteAfter Kelly Keegan's remarks about Charlie Kirk brought intense public scrutiny, she never backed away from what she said. That's because she believed Kirk promoted racism, misogyny, and a message that preyed on young men (whose frontal brains aren't developed yet) by filling them with lies and hate. She stood by her convictions despite the backlash.
Trying to twist that into an accusation that she would somehow discriminate against patients or put elderly residents at risk is not only baseless, it's offensive. Kelly has dedicated her career to caring for others professionally and ethically, regardless of politics or personal beliefs.
Anyone who supports Charlie Kirk's rhetoric—including his comments advocating public executions—should be prepared for people to strongly disagree with those views. A world with less hate, less division, and less dehumanization is always a better place.
And let's face it, Erika didn't even blink an eye before she was wearing sparkles and selling her brand on all platforms. Wasn't it the very next week?
@1054 all those who villainized Keegan loved what Trump said about Mueller. You all should take a real good long look in the mirror.
DeleteKeegan said evil things because she disagreed with Charlie Kirk's political views. I read that here. I can't stand Trump and I can't stand those who excuse hateful rhetoric. She can't be trusted to compassionately care for any human. If she determines any patient's political affiliation, they are likely in serious danger.
DeleteKraft has a PhD in obstruction. He, like Kelly K are both the north end of a south bound mule
ReplyDeleteI thought our elderly would go without care if Gracedale was no more. It looks like families are having no problem finding alternatives to Gracedale. What are we doing here. Those who supported the sale were called heartless. Now, those who support a "Weekend At Bernie's" Gracedale are the heartless ones for pushing a plan that will cost still more money to our elderly on fixed incomes. Gracedale is not a necessary county function.
ReplyDeleteHow much is Gracedale cost the property taxpayers?
ReplyDeleteI remember when the Good Reverend Mario Martinez shellacked you, Ron and the bird house maker where is the good Rev?
ReplyDeleteDave Holland should be nowhere near this committee. He only worked for 8 months at Gracedale. He stood by and watched as D. Millard Freeman implemented John Brown’s plan to slash 300 jobs through attrition at Gracedale. That’s according to the former AFSCME guy.
ReplyDeleteHolland should chair this committee. He is slammed here bc he was “only” at Gracedale for 8 months, but that’s 8 months longer than anyone on council. He has experience as an administrator of nursing homes, both here and elsewhere. He is a nurse practitioner. He teaches nursing. Did he slash 300 jobs? That is manure. No one has been laud off since Glenn reibman. Have vacant positions gone unfilled? Yes, but brown never needed to call in agency nurses. Also Gracedale went 2 years with no deficiencies under premier and broke even.
DeleteIMO, those two inspections probably had Premier cooking the books, be that as it may, it was pre-Covid and they intentionally did not fill vacant positions at a time when people still wanted to work in nursing homes. And, Gracedale has always relied on Agency staffing.
DeleteIt's Millard D. Freeman(not D. Millard Freeman) and he is the one who brought Gracedale to back to back deficiency free surveys and a five star rating. It is true that David Holland worked months for Premier at Gracedale not years. No idea who a "former AFSCME guy" might be but it is likely that Gracedale would not be barely hanging on at this point if Mr. Freeman was still the administrator and he was allowed to proceed with a plan to "right the ship". The county asked for a plan to save Gracedale, it was on the way to being saved and then apparently not everyone liked the plan. The result is what is the present status of Gracedale; namely, a Provisional II license with an abuse warning and an executive stating that building Gracedale City through donations from those in the community is the answer..
ReplyDeleteIf Kraft refuses to act, and this council refuses to respond, there won’t be a need for a committee
ReplyDeleteor a management group to attempt to save Gracedale, it will be too late. Death by meetings and committees.
There isn't even a guy to report to a committee yet, he starts in August. Bernie is just trying to fill this blog with a slow newly article and you dolts are responding to nothing
DeleteThat “guy” position will be useless. He said he will not be involved with the Gracedale administration. What then will he do?
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