Zrinski Plan to Save Northampton Boro Senior Center Falls Short

Back in July, NorCo Exec Tara Zrinski told County Council she was working on a "sustainable operating plan" to save the Northampton Senior Center. Earlier in the year, cuts in federal and state funding had already resulted in the closure of a dozen senior centers across Pennsylvania have already closed, with 40 more on the chopping blck..

She suggested that an autonomous community group could provide volunteers for a newly organized nonprofit like Neighbors in Need. to provide a safe setting fand social interaction or seniors. 

Her efforts fell short. 

"We tried," she lamented at last week's county council meeting. "We tried to make an agreement to provide a grant to the senior center in Northampton Borough. We even got matching funds and additional state support from Senator Nick Miller to operate one independently while hiring an individual to oversee the senior programming. But the Grace UCC Church voted the proposal down because "the complexity of getting grants and running a senior center would be too much responsibility," even if Northampton Borough agreed to operate it. 

"Good intentions often don't land where we want them to," she said. 

I believe Zrinski could find the funding for Northampton by merging two senior centers on south side Bethlehem that are within a stone's throw from each other. One is located at the Rooney building, and the other at the Hispanic center. At a time when we should be more inclusive and have even established a Human Relations Commission, why would we want to have separate senior centers for those who speak Spanish and those who don't? With the money saved by this merger, it might be possible to continue the senior center in Northampton.

Zrinski Addresses a Senior Center Crisis

On Thursday,NorCo Exec Tara Zrinski updated County Council on the recent decision to close the Northampton Borough Senior Center. She has a "sustainable operating plan" to keep the facility open as a community-based organization.

Northampton County operates 9 senior centers, while Lehigh operates 11.

Zrinski reported that there is a statewide funding crisis for senior centers. This is the result of both the end of federal American Rescue Plan and declining state funding combined with rising costs for meals, transportation, staffing, and other services. A dozen senior centers across Pennsylvania have already closed, with 40 more slated for termination.

Statewide, there's an estimated $50 million statewide funding gap for aging services, and they include far more than senior centers.

The Department of Aging's responsibilities also include:Meals on Wheels (the county cleared a wait list, but 13 more have applied); Emergency food assistance; Health and wellness programs; Transportation; Home modifications; Medication management; Personal emergency response systems; Cooling centers during extreme heat; and In-home personal care services (there are 62 people on a personal care wait list).

Zrinski pointed out that "When you have people at a senior center, and you have people on a care wait list, people waiting to be bathed, people waiting for in-home services, and you think, 'Well, we have able-bodied seniors and we have people who cannot change themselves. Who do we provide services to first?"

Could the county make up the $1-1.5 million shortfall? According to Zrinski, no. She cited and waved a 1991 Council resolution barring the administration from funding more than is allotted by the state.

The budget at Northampton's senior center includes $90,000 for meals, $11,000 for rent and $8,000 for operating expenses. This excludes the cost of a 27-hour per week part-time employee.

So though the county will continue to pay rent until the end of the year, it is unable to support the senior center.

She's suggesting the formation of an autonomous community group that can provide volunteers for a newly organized nonprofit like Neighbors in Need. to provide a safe setting fand social interaction or seniors.

After she finished her presentation, Council member Jeff Warren fawned over it, claiming that Zrinski is thinking "outside the box," a phrase that she herself later used to describe her plan.

I'm a bit more skeptical. If Zrinski wanted to think outside the box, she could ignore a 1991 County Council resolution that has no binding effect on her or future County Councils. She could ask County Council to rescind the resolution. She could also consider merging two senior centers on south side Bethlehem that are within a stone's throw from each other. One is located at the Rooney building, and the other at the Hispanic center/ Frankly, at a time when we should be more inclusive and have even established a Human Relations Commission, why would we want to have separate senior centers for those who speak Spanish and those who don't? With the money saved by this merger, it might be possible to continue the senior center in Northampton.

NorCo Council to Consider Gracedale, Fiscal Director Salary and Senior Centers Tonight

Tonight, Northampton County Council will be discussing Gracedale, the Fiscal Director Salary and Senior Centers.

Gracedale - An Update is scheduled during the Human Services Committee, and it is supposed to come from Director Sue Wandalowski. Why? Just weeks ago, Gracedale was removed from her portfolio, so why is the mouthpiece? And she herself has stated in several of her defensive presentations that she's no expert. She is defensive and inaccurate when it comes to the nursing home. The person who should know what is going on is the Administrator, but she has only rarely spoken. 

When the full County Council meets, they will consider the establishment of a Gracedale Oversight Committee, which hopefully will be headed by Dave Holland, a former Administrator at both Gracedale and in Monroe County. 

That's overdue, especially after the latest visit from the Department of Health that included: (1) another resident (I think we're at four, but he's called Resident 1) who wandered off and who had to be brought back by police; (2) an agency LPN who documented having provided medications and performed tests on the resident while he was wandering the streets of Nazareth, a pretty neat trick; and (3) a biker resident (he's Resident 2) who never should have been admitted and was hoarding meds like oxycodone and bringing in booze and a knife. 

One of my readers, a "local healthcare expert," had this to say:

A friendly review from a local healthcare expert… resident 1 was not assessed properly and should have been on a locked unit based on the resident’s mental health status. There was poor or likely no communication between the aide, lpn and nursing supervisor. The lpns and nursing supervisors are very weak as demonstrated by the various severe deficiencies. Resident 2 should never have been admitted to Gracedale. It was obviously done to fill a bed. No plans were developed to manage the resident’s substance abuse disorder. He belongs in a rehab facility, not a nursing home. The bed is better left empty than admitting a trainwreck violent resident who Gracedale is likely not even able to bill for. I am sure he is there for free care. Dumb. Who wants grandpa living with a drug user biker with dangerous behaviors. And get rid of the smoking. Very few nursing homes allow it. It is a risk for a variety of reasons and takes staff away from care to supervise smoking. Lastly, I see that Gracedale is already partially under the direction of a nursing home management company - CHR. That nugget is in the last sentence of the plan of correction and should be communicated to the general public. The state directed them to use a state authorized company to train the staff as the state determined the home (really the county) is unable to do so. And by the way, the plan of correction is overly complicated and just not doable for any nursing home. So many steps in these processes that no nursing home could comply with. After the plan of correction is completed, run it through quality assurance committee to develop more simplified processes that are doable. Shrink the home down to 350-400 residents, get somebody in there like CHR or other qualified outsourced professionals to run the operation, and rebuild from the ground up. Crazy things can and do happen at every healthcare facility whether it be a hospital or nursing home. It is people taking care of people. You must have systems to deal with those situations. Gracedale has no systems. I hope the county officials read this for the benefit of the poor souls who live there.

Senior Centers. - The state recently cut $400,000 from the county's budget, which is used to fund senior centers. There might be more cuts if and when the state legislature adopts a budget. This will be discussed in the Human Services Committee. 

Fiscal Director. - Last week, the county lost out on a CPA with 30 years of accounting experience because they insisted on setting the pay at a much lower salary than the Executive wanted to provide. It's true that County Council. with some limitations, sets the salary. So Council will be asked to give the Executive authority to negotiate a salary with a proposed hire.