Legislature Approves Local Development Corp. For Transfer Of Nursing Home

By an 11-6 vote Rockland County legislators approved the creation of a Local Development Corporation (LDC), which will oversee a hoped-for sale of the Summit Park Nursing Center. Once the LDC is formed, the county will transfer ownership of the nursing home so it can be sold.

The hours long public hearing preceding the vote drew a standing room audience of hundreds of nursing home employees, CSEA members and Summit Park residents and their family members. More than 35 speakers told the legislators to keep Summit Park Nursing Home open because of its benefit to residents and the harm that could be caused by a potential loss of jobs. CSEA Local 844 President P.T. Thomas told the legislators that if they formed the LDC, the union would take legal action. 

“We believe the LDC is an illegal entity,” said Thomas, adding that the union will try to get a referendum on the November ballot.

Most legislators shared their reasoning and feelings about the transfer of the 321-bed nursing home to the LDC named the Rockland County Health Facilities Corporation. The 11 voting in favor of the LDC included: John Murphy, Chris Carey, Aron Wieder, Jay Hood, Frank Sparaco, Nancy Low Hogan, Alden Wolfe, Michael Grant, Harriet Cornell, Philip Soskin and Ilan Schoenberger. Those voting against the LDC were: Patrick Moroney, Aney Paul, Toney Earl, Joseph Meyers, Doug Jobson and Ed Day. Many of them pointed out the annual multimillion costs to the county to run the nursing home and the expected reduction in federal Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements as reasons for their votes. 

“Sale of the nursing care center is something I have opposed and if I could see a way out I would oppose it,” said Cornell. 

“Now I would have done anything to save our nursing home, anything at all,” said Murphy. The longtime mental health advocate said he was tearing down something he built but he did not see an alternative to the LDC.

Grant said the pressure from the state for the county to get out of the nursing home business is “incredible.”

Day referenced that the financial difficulties of the hospital worsening over the past five years.  Hood said it was one of the hardest decisions he has had to make.

“I’m not proud tonight. “I’m sorry we’ve come to this. I’m going to have to support this tonight,” stated Hood.

Earl explained that 43 percent of Summit Park’s workforce lives in his legislative district and he was voting against the LDC “because I think it’s the right thing to do.” Paul, who also has many employees residing in her district, joined him in voting no.

Wieder warned of possible county insolvency. “If we don’t take action today there will be no tomorrow to contemplate,” he said.

Carey said it was not an easy decision but one that legislators spent a lot of time on in meetings. Soskin said he had not made up his mind before the public hearing but he felt he needed to support the LDC.

Moroney said he did not want his legacy to be firing 400 or 500 people. Meyers said he wanted to give the new county executive a chance to find an alternative although he was not certain that would be successful. 

“I do think eventually we are going to come to the same place probably,” he said. 

Jobson indentified himself as a union member and said he felt accountable.

“I will not be a part of this and I will vote no,” he said.