It isn't often that residents show up at a meeting of the Genesee County Legislature and lobby representatives on a particular issue, but Wednesday about two dozen people -- mostly employees of the Genesee County Nursing Home -- were on hand to oppose the county hiring a consultant to study the options for dealing with the home.
Regular contributor to The Batavian, Bea McManis, said:
"Most of us were raised here. We worked here. We paid our taxes. We contributed to the well being and the safety net that the county nursing home offers for our seniors. We have not reached that point where we're looking at the county home as our safety net."
The legislature approved a $62,000 contract with Rochester-based Center for Governmental Research. In a memo attached to the contract, CGR outlines a number of possible options for dealing with the financially challenged nursing home that it says it will study fully.
Legislator Jay Grasso said none of Genesee County's seniors will wind up out on the street, regardless of what is ultimately decided regarding the home.
"The County has Medicaid obligations to our seniors," Grasso said. "That won't change no matter what happens. Nobody is going to be kicked out of their home."
(via WBTA)
Howard wrote - "Legislator
Howard wrote - "Legislator Jay Grasso said none of Genesee County's seniors will wind up out on the street, regardless of what the Legislature ultimately decided to do with the home."
"The County has medicaid obligations to our seniors," Grasso said. "That won't change no matter what happens. Nobody is going to be kicked out of their home."
If the legislature decides to sell, there is absolutely no guarantees or safeguards. So it may be true that seniors won't end up on the "street" but they very well may end up in a facility far away from family and friends in another county.
So our county taxes will still pay the medicaid for a Genesee County senior to lay his or her head down, in the twilight of their life, outside the community they've lived, worked and paid taxes their entire lives.
Posted by Howard Owens on
Posted by Howard Owens on April 15, 2010 - 3:17pm
Correction:
The sentence should read "We have NOW reached that point where we're looking at the county home as our safety net."
Regular contributor to The Batavian, Bea McManis,
"Most of us were raised here," McManis said. "We worked here. We paid our taxes. We contributed to the well being and the safety net that the county nursing home offers for our seniors. We have not reached that point where we're looking at the county home as our safety net."
Thanks
I hear Mr. Grasso is
I hear Mr. Grasso is starting his own psychic chat line.
The County has no business
The County has no business being in the health care business just another job shop to provide government employment. Why is it that the government can't run anything efficiently. The nursing home is nothing but a tax payer money pit end of story. Sell it to a private corporation that knows how to run a business.
Posted by Richard Gahagan on
Posted by Richard Gahagan on April 16, 2010 - 1:53pm
The County has no business being in the health care business
Then, perhaps, you should contact the Genesee County Legislators and demand that they change their first sentence of their mission statement:
Genesee County Government Mission Statement
1.The legitimate objective of government is to do for a community of people whatever they need to have done but cannot do at all in separate and individual capacities. (Abraham Lincoln)
Would you call that the
Would you call that the ultimate Nanny State Statement of all time.
Richard, The statement was
Richard,
The statement was made by Lincoln and adopted by the GENESEE COUNTY Legislature as the first sentence of their mission statement.
If it is a nanny state statement, attribute it to Lincoln.
Just because Lincoln said
Just because Lincoln said something doesn't make it the word of God.
Further, on purely logical grounds, I don't see how that statement is any kind of endorsement that the county should own and operate a nursing.
There are well-run, privately owned nursing homes all over the nation.
Which proves that "the people" can do this particular task in their own capacity.
Rather than the statement arguing in favor of a government run facility, it argues rather strongly and emphatically against it.
At this point, I'm not sure what the correct path is for the nursing home. I'm just saying this particular statement is in no way a statement of support for the county running a nursing home.
Richard, long long before the
Richard, long long before the word "socialism' was coined to pin on the safety nets that are built into civil society the governing body of this county -- the Genesee County Board of Supervisors voted to make available a home for drunkards, the poor, the old, blind, insane and sick. I wonder if those lawmakers used the term "nanny state" as they debated the act that would provide people from this county a place to go when they had nowhere else to turn.
http://www.co.genesee.ny.us/dpt/historian/countyhome.html
Lorie, my perception has
Lorie, my perception has always been that those homes weren't built and maintained for the benefit of the individuals housed there (or I should say, warehoused there). It was so that the decent people of society need not be troubled with drunkards and the feeble.
As for the old, back in those days -- most grandparents could expect to be cared for at home by their families until they died.
And these institutions were poorly funded and put in locations -- such as Bethany -- where they would be out of sight and out of mind for most of the good citizens of the community.
I'm not justifying that system then, but I don't think it's comparable to the situation today.
Certainly, nobody warehoused in these institutions would consider it something desirable, expected and an entitlement.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poorhouse
http://www.poorhousestory.com/history.htm
From the second link above:
"These poorhouses were built with great optimism. They promised to be a much more efficient and cheaper way to provide relief to paupers. And there was a fervent popular belief that housing such people in institutions would provide the opportunity to reform them and cure them of the bad habits and character defects that were assumed to be the cause of their poverty. "
Oh, I totally agree, Howard.
Oh, I totally agree, Howard. I don't pretend that the early local representatives had much of a social justice leaning. The act in the 1820's most certainly was more of a "solution". But it wasn't a private solution and thank goodness we've evolved and recognized the infirmed, which the early government labeled "state paupers" -- blind, lame, old or disabled, are not the dregs of society that need to be squirreled away in some depressing institution. It's progress when stereotypes and labels are removed and thankfully we've come a long way since the early 1800's.
From Sue Conklin's brief history: "The following were eligible for assistance: habitual drunkards, lunatics (one who by disease, grief or accident lost the use of reason or from old age, sickness or weakness was so weak of mind as to be incapable of governing or managing their affairs), paupers (a person with no means of income), state paupers (one who is blind, lame, old or disabled with no income source)or a vagrant."
There's no doubt there was a great generational responsibility that has been lost. Parents took care of their children and the children would in turn take care of the parents. This is impossible today when each household needs two incomes and children move far away from parents to find gainful employment.
When I was a child the old County Home facility over in Bethany was still open (before the home in Batavia was built). The girl scout and 4-H groups that I belonged to made pilgrimages a couple times a year to entertain the residents. By then it was a nursing home. I don't remember singing for "drunkards". From my memories of the facility it was a very scary place. Steeped in Genesee Co history the home in Bethany did make the social evolution from scary institution housing "drunkards" and the "feeble minded" to the facility that ranks 2nd only behind the other government funded facility, the State VA Home.
So while it can be argued endlessly for the merits of less county government and privatization. The county home has been public since it was conceived back in the 1820's. The two facilities that offer the best care are both public facilities. The Genesee County Nursing Home may cost the average county tax payer a pizza and the change in the couch cushions, but I say it's worth the pocket change to look after the people that already paid their way. Every bit as vital as plowing roads.
Lets wait and see what CGR comes back with in terms of saving money at the facility.