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Nursing Home Costs a Concern
County Hires Consultant to Help Hold Down Rising Expenses
By Kenneth C. Crowe II, Times Union
November 30, 2004
The Board of Supervisors voted unanimously earlier this month to retain Michael McCarthy to provide consulting services at a cost not to exceed $28,300.
Supervisor David R. Meager, R-Malta, chairs the Maplewood Manor Study Committee,
which has been trying to find a way to deal with the rising costs at the nursing home. The consultant will examine costs and see what can be done to improve the county's situation, Meager said.
The county estimates that it will spend $5.7 million in county revenues to cover a shortfall in the nursing home budget in 2005. This is nearly twice as much as the $3 million allocated by the Board of Supervisors in the 2004 budget to cover operating losses.
The nursing home budget for 2005 is $21.2 million compared to $20.3 million this year. The 2005 revenues for the nursing home will be $15.5 million leaving the county to close a $5.7 million gap.
The Board of Supervisors was warned last year that nursing home expenses will be a continuing problem. The same was true in this year's budget message by Supervisors Mary Ann Johnson, R-Day, the chairwoman of the Law and Finance Committee.
"The problems at Maplewood Manor have been examined extensively this year and a solution is not in sight for that facility or any of the municipal nursing homes in the Capital District," Johnson said.
"However, even our best attempts at belt tightening are only making a slight dent in the problem. Last year we projected an $8 million loss in 2005. Careful review of expenditure and the cooperative assistance of Maplewood Manor personnel have dropped that loss to about $5.7 million," Johnson said.
Meager's committee will work with the consultant to see what alternatives there are for resolving the lack of revenues to cover the expenses at the nursing home.
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