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County considers building $27M nursing home
K'hook Super Doug McGivney 'disappointed' about panel's recommendation for new facility in Philmont
The Columbia County Board of Supervisors Pine Haven strategy panel recommended that the county construct a new $27 million nursing home on the property currently occupied by Pine Haven in Philmont.
The recommendation will go to the Board of Supervisors Pine Haven committee, Sept. 15 at 6:15 p.m., before it can become a resolution at the full board meeting in October.
Chairman Art Baer, R-Hillsdale, attended the meeting and said new construction isn’t likely to begin until other capital projects the county is undertaking wrap up. “While the decision ultimately would be to build, we wouldn’t pull the ripcord immediately,” he said.
The resolution, introduced by Supervisor James Keegan, R-Claverack and seconded by Supervisor Tom Dias, R-Ancram, also included a recommendation to the Pine Haven committee to apply for a certificate of need (CON) from the state Department of Health.
The CON program is a state-mandated review process which governs the establishment, ownership, construction, and renovation of health care facilities. Health care providers are required to submit a CON application for approval before building or renovation facilities, before facilities acquire major medical equipment, add or delete services, or when ownership of a facility is changed or transferred.
Art Proper, administrator at Pine Haven, was pleased with the decision. “State reimbursement policies would allow the county to recover all of the estimated $27 million to construct the facility, plus 75 to 85 percent of the interest on the borrowing,” he said in a press release.
“The net result is that the county will have a brand new, skilled nursing facility for a cost of not more than $6 million spread over 25 years. It is clearly a win-win for the county,” Baer said, also via release.
Baer said the county will most likely use its newly-created Civic Resource Corporation (CRC), a non-profit with the same board of directors as the county Industrial Development Agency, to bond for the estimated cost of a new facility. The CRC would also potentially stand as owner of the property, the chairman said.
This decision comes after months of discussion and analysis, including many visits to nursing homes in the Hudson Valley and in-depth analysis of a proposal by developer Ron DeVito for a senior housing and care complex, known as the Concordia Senior Living Community. DeVito proposed the facility be located in Valatie or Kinderhook.
At the meeting Wednesday, several options were discussed, including operating Pine Haven without changes except for renovations. They also talked about leasing a home “in the village of Valatie to be developed by a private entity,” according to a memo from the county Department of Public Works addressed to the Pine Haven subcommittee. And finally, construction and ownership of a nursing home as part of the complex proposed by DeVito, with the rest controlled by developer.
Other options listed in the memo were a study “to tailor the scope of health care services offered at the Pine Haven nursing home,” the sale of Pine Haven, or the sale of some Pine Haven land.
“I think the county should be in control of our own destiny as far as the nursing home is concerned,” said subcommittee chairman Lawrence Andrews, R-Ghent, during the meeting.
Supervisor Lynda Scheer, R-Gallatin, said she also was most comfortable with the option of the county building a new facility on the existing Philmont site, but asked, “What does that do as far as (DeVito’s) assisted living facility going forward? Does that put a kabash on Mr. DeVito’s future plans in the county?”
Public Works Commissioner David Robinson said that he had met with DeVito, who gave him the understanding that he was committed to the assisted living project with or without a partnership with the county.
DeVito, who was not at the subcommittee meeting, told the Register-Star he would probably have to re-evaluate his proposal if the county did not want to include itself in the project.
“I heard that that was going to be, probably, their most favored option,” he said. “If they do that, then I have to take a look at the project in Valatie to determine whether it’s feasible to proceed without the nursing home being part of the project.”
Supervisor Doug McGivney, D-Kinderhook, was at the subcommittee meeting and released a statement afterward.
“I am very disappointed by the determination of the subcommittee,” he said. “It was both premature and based upon misinformation. Mr. DeVito has not agreed to build the senior housing in Valatie without nursing home beds. This means that the taxpayers of the village of Valatie are out $500,000 toward the renovation of their failing sewage system. That is what Mr. DeVito offered Valatie officials in order to bring the sewage system into compliance. The village officials have also been misleading by not mentioning that offer to the public. Like the Valatie people, the Philmont subcommittee was misled by the idea that Mr. DeVito can and will build senior housing without nursing home beds.”
“What I’ll need to do is revise my demographic studies and perform additional studies. Without the nursing home, there is a significant difference in the project,” DeVito said.
The marketing element of having a nursing home near senior housing, DeVito explained, was a huge part of what would make the facility so palatable to the public.
“It’s a comforting thought for the residents to know that beds would be reserved for them in a skilled nursing facility in the same place in which they were living. Without the nursing home, if they’ve decided not to join the project, I would really need to take a good look at it to determine if the project is feasible without it,” he said.
“The facts presented by Mr. DeVito have not been fully explored,” said McGivney. “His offerings show savings of over $800,000 per year to the taxpayers of the county. Even if half or a quarter of that, it is still a savings that is better than the annual subsidizing of the Philmont Nursing Home, which is currently budgeted at over $500,000 for 2009.”
Al Wassenhove, a county resident who has been collecting signatures on a petition to keep Pine Haven in Philmont since the idea was introduced, said he was apprehensive about the recommendation.
“Success is sweet, but I want to see the final outcome,” he said. “If this is going to be the case, which it should have been from the beginning, we’ve wasted taxpayer money on needless studies. I guess every once in awhile, the taxpayers have to do a little screaming and yelling and circulating petitions to get the local government to respond.
“I will wait for the final vote before I exclaim too much joy,” Wassenhove said. “And it must remain a county-owned and operated home.”
As of press time, Wassenhove has over 3,300 signatures of county residents who support keeping the facility in Philmont.
To reach reporter Francesca Olsen call 518-828-1616, ext. 2272, or e-mail folsen@registerstar.com.
The recommendation will go to the Board of Supervisors Pine Haven committee, Sept. 15 at 6:15 p.m., before it can become a resolution at the full board meeting in October.
Chairman Art Baer, R-Hillsdale, attended the meeting and said new construction isn’t likely to begin until other capital projects the county is undertaking wrap up. “While the decision ultimately would be to build, we wouldn’t pull the ripcord immediately,” he said.
The resolution, introduced by Supervisor James Keegan, R-Claverack and seconded by Supervisor Tom Dias, R-Ancram, also included a recommendation to the Pine Haven committee to apply for a certificate of need (CON) from the state Department of Health.
The CON program is a state-mandated review process which governs the establishment, ownership, construction, and renovation of health care facilities. Health care providers are required to submit a CON application for approval before building or renovation facilities, before facilities acquire major medical equipment, add or delete services, or when ownership of a facility is changed or transferred.
Art Proper, administrator at Pine Haven, was pleased with the decision. “State reimbursement policies would allow the county to recover all of the estimated $27 million to construct the facility, plus 75 to 85 percent of the interest on the borrowing,” he said in a press release.
“The net result is that the county will have a brand new, skilled nursing facility for a cost of not more than $6 million spread over 25 years. It is clearly a win-win for the county,” Baer said, also via release.
Baer said the county will most likely use its newly-created Civic Resource Corporation (CRC), a non-profit with the same board of directors as the county Industrial Development Agency, to bond for the estimated cost of a new facility. The CRC would also potentially stand as owner of the property, the chairman said.
This decision comes after months of discussion and analysis, including many visits to nursing homes in the Hudson Valley and in-depth analysis of a proposal by developer Ron DeVito for a senior housing and care complex, known as the Concordia Senior Living Community. DeVito proposed the facility be located in Valatie or Kinderhook.
At the meeting Wednesday, several options were discussed, including operating Pine Haven without changes except for renovations. They also talked about leasing a home “in the village of Valatie to be developed by a private entity,” according to a memo from the county Department of Public Works addressed to the Pine Haven subcommittee. And finally, construction and ownership of a nursing home as part of the complex proposed by DeVito, with the rest controlled by developer.
Other options listed in the memo were a study “to tailor the scope of health care services offered at the Pine Haven nursing home,” the sale of Pine Haven, or the sale of some Pine Haven land.
“I think the county should be in control of our own destiny as far as the nursing home is concerned,” said subcommittee chairman Lawrence Andrews, R-Ghent, during the meeting.
Supervisor Lynda Scheer, R-Gallatin, said she also was most comfortable with the option of the county building a new facility on the existing Philmont site, but asked, “What does that do as far as (DeVito’s) assisted living facility going forward? Does that put a kabash on Mr. DeVito’s future plans in the county?”
Public Works Commissioner David Robinson said that he had met with DeVito, who gave him the understanding that he was committed to the assisted living project with or without a partnership with the county.
DeVito, who was not at the subcommittee meeting, told the Register-Star he would probably have to re-evaluate his proposal if the county did not want to include itself in the project.
“I heard that that was going to be, probably, their most favored option,” he said. “If they do that, then I have to take a look at the project in Valatie to determine whether it’s feasible to proceed without the nursing home being part of the project.”
Supervisor Doug McGivney, D-Kinderhook, was at the subcommittee meeting and released a statement afterward.
“I am very disappointed by the determination of the subcommittee,” he said. “It was both premature and based upon misinformation. Mr. DeVito has not agreed to build the senior housing in Valatie without nursing home beds. This means that the taxpayers of the village of Valatie are out $500,000 toward the renovation of their failing sewage system. That is what Mr. DeVito offered Valatie officials in order to bring the sewage system into compliance. The village officials have also been misleading by not mentioning that offer to the public. Like the Valatie people, the Philmont subcommittee was misled by the idea that Mr. DeVito can and will build senior housing without nursing home beds.”
“What I’ll need to do is revise my demographic studies and perform additional studies. Without the nursing home, there is a significant difference in the project,” DeVito said.
The marketing element of having a nursing home near senior housing, DeVito explained, was a huge part of what would make the facility so palatable to the public.
“It’s a comforting thought for the residents to know that beds would be reserved for them in a skilled nursing facility in the same place in which they were living. Without the nursing home, if they’ve decided not to join the project, I would really need to take a good look at it to determine if the project is feasible without it,” he said.
“The facts presented by Mr. DeVito have not been fully explored,” said McGivney. “His offerings show savings of over $800,000 per year to the taxpayers of the county. Even if half or a quarter of that, it is still a savings that is better than the annual subsidizing of the Philmont Nursing Home, which is currently budgeted at over $500,000 for 2009.”
Al Wassenhove, a county resident who has been collecting signatures on a petition to keep Pine Haven in Philmont since the idea was introduced, said he was apprehensive about the recommendation.
“Success is sweet, but I want to see the final outcome,” he said. “If this is going to be the case, which it should have been from the beginning, we’ve wasted taxpayer money on needless studies. I guess every once in awhile, the taxpayers have to do a little screaming and yelling and circulating petitions to get the local government to respond.
“I will wait for the final vote before I exclaim too much joy,” Wassenhove said. “And it must remain a county-owned and operated home.”
As of press time, Wassenhove has over 3,300 signatures of county residents who support keeping the facility in Philmont.
To reach reporter Francesca Olsen call 518-828-1616, ext. 2272, or e-mail folsen@registerstar.com.
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