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Chemung Co. Nursing Facility Sale?

Updated Monday, February 11, 2013

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For years the county leaders have talked about the possibility of selling the Chemung County nursing facility to a private company.

February 11, 2013
Chemung County (WENY) - For years the county leaders have talked about the possibility of selling the Chemung County nursing facility to a private company. Tonight, county leaders took the first step to make that a reality. It was standing room only in the Chemung County legislature chambers tonight. Protesters believe that if the county sells the nursing facility the quality of life for everyone involved will dramatically drop, but county leaders say nothing is final yet.
     Chemung County CSEA spokesman Mark Kotzin says privatizing the nursing facility would be detrimental to the community, and he has 3,200 other signatures of people   who agree.
     “This facility is here as a facility of last resort for people weather they can afford private nursing care or not. No matter how complex their senior care needs may be in the future this is a facility for the entire community,” says Kotzin.
      The worry is that switching to a private provider will lower the standard of service.
     “When you have a private provider they generally cuts costs by offering less offering less benefits what you get is a higher turnover and less quality staff and that translates to care the residents receive,” says Kotzin.
     County legislators say this is a tough issue, but tonight, they approved a resolution to hire a company to explore the option to sell assures Deputy County Executive Mike Krusen.
      “What this is not an agreement to sell it, what this is , is an agreement to market it to determine if the marketplace bears the type of interest that will be there, so we can weigh it against our other options,” says Krusen.
      The county spends nearly $2 million every year to run the nursing facility, and needs to look into ways to save money.
      “It's an opportunity to explore what options are available amongst other options as you may know we've also talked about doing a public private partnership with out local hospitals. Another option is to continue it exactly as it is now,” says Krusen.
     The county will consult with Marcus and Millichap Real Estate Investment Services hired to market the Nursing facility, which will then come back with information to help legislators decide if they should sell.