I've written three times about last week's Gracedale's Oversight Committee meeting. Continuum of Care Director Tom Carson has told NorCo Council established that an operational assessment they obtained in 2023 has been largely ignored by a former county executive who opposed it. We learned that the county's CNA training program was actually stopped by the state Department of Health. We also discovered that Gracedale, currently operating with a provisional II license, had two G-level deficiencies (actual harm) in September and failed to inform County Council. Most astonishingly, the very matter that led to an investigating grand jury had still been unresolved. There still is no formal protocol between Upper Nazareth police and Gracedale on 911 calls despite several attempts by the police to establish one. I'll finish my reporting about this meeting with some of the facts presented by Administrator Michelle Morton.
Employment Hires & Separations. - From January through August, Gracedale had 78 new hires, but lost 59.
Open AFSCME positions (incorrectly spelled as AFCME) in Morton's report - In Dining, there are 43 positions, of which 23 are staffed. In Housekeeping, there are 54 staffed positions, of which 16 are open. In nursing there are openings for 319 CNAs, with only 69 positions staffed. There are 51 LPN positions staffed, with another 134 unfilled.
Why did Executive Tara Zrinski raise the salaries of front-line workers before the nursing supervisors. She said the union actually asked her to raise the wages of nursing supervisors first. She added that the large number of open positions "will get better if you throw money at it."
There are many dedicated employees, including 11 people with 30-35 years at the home.
What about RNs? Morton failed to provide that information.
Admissions. - Gracedale has had only 48 admissions this year through July. Over that same period, 56 residents have left. Average daily census dropped from 493 in January to 463 in August.
Finances - Gracedale is projected to lose about $2.3 million in 2026 according to one slide, but in another the loss is about $1 million.
No comments:
Post a Comment
You own views are appreciated, especially if they differ from mine. But remember, commenting is a privilege, not a right. I will delete personal attacks or off-topic remarks at my discretion. Comments that play into the tribalism that has consumed this nation will be declined. So will comments alleging voter fraud unless backed up by concrete evidence. If you attack someone personally, I expect you to identify yourself. I will delete criticisms of my comment policy, vulgarities, cut-and-paste jobs from other sources and any suggestion of violence towards anyone. I will also delete sweeping generalizations about mainstream parties or ideologies, i.e. identity politics. My decisions on these matters are made on a case by case basis, and may be affected by my mood that day, my access to the blog at the time the comment was made or other information that isn’t readily apparent.