Saturday, December 11, 2010

Hot Topic: Gracedale Nursing Home

I want people to way in on this matter.  This is one of the hottest topics in Northampton County at this time.  I want to see what people think, because I am not sure I know where all the members of County Council stand on this matter.  I am going to provide some information here to get this started.  The following information comes from the county website.  I believe that you will find the "Purpose" section to be confusing and contradictory. 

I will have a follow up post to this later, but wanted to get moving on this conversation since it will be determined in a very short time as to what the county is doing.  Anyone from Gracedale itself is more than encouraged to weigh in on this matter, so that we could have some internal opinions on the matter. 

Gracedale

 
History

Gracedale's origins go back to 1873 when the Northampton County Commissioners purchased the 365 acre farm from the Moravians. In 1951 the Moravian Church of America gave permission to use "Gracedale", the English translation "Gnadenthal", the name given to the original farm established in 1745. Originally the Northampton County Home was designed as dormitory facilities, and the "guest" could come and go as they pleased. Medical services and nursing facilities provided were minimal. The operation of Gracedale has changed significantly over the years.

What Is Gracedale

Gracedale is a county-owned and operated nursing home which is part of the Department of Human Services, and is one of the largest facilities in Pennsylvania. The Gracedale facility is licensed to provide long term nursing care to residents appropriate to their individual needs. Registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, and certified nurses aides provide services under the direction of in-house physicians. Gracedale is administered by a Pennsylvania licensed nursing home administrator.

Purpose

The purpose of Gracedale is to provide quality nursing care in public facility. Gracedale is geared to meet the total needs of the adult resident who cannot be maintained in the community, despite appropriate assistance from multiple agencies. Those who lack the necessary resources for private nursing homes are a priority here. Provisions are made for medical, recreational, emotional, and spiritual needs.

7 comments:

  1. Keep it in county hands. The only reason they want to sell is they need to pay for the swaption.
    Bad people in office jamming their agenda down our throats.

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  2. Gracedale belongs to the taxpayers of the county, and if it will be sold or kept in the hands of the county, that decision should be made by the taxpayers by way of a ballot vote.

    SPG

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  3. I have to look at this from a couple different points of view.

    First is politicians who are trying to force this issue. Why is this matter trying to be forced to the extent that this is? Why are the members of council trying to force this issue out of the hands of taxpayers who are ultimately responsible for the payments of Gracedale? If this idea prevails, where does it ultimately end.

    We elect the members of council to make the difficult decisions for us. That is because we should or do have trust in them to make a decision that is rationale and best for the community at large. However, with that being said, sometimes those decisions need to go back to the people for the final say. I believe this is one of those times in which the decision is too political, and really should be decided by the people, as to show that there was no bias or political agenda on the part of any council members.

    My fears with a ballot that the people will vote on, is that simply put, most people vote with their hearts and not with the minds. Most people are not informed enough to make a decision. Since this matter has become so heated, I would encourage all those that would vote if it came to a ballot situtation, please do so on an informed level. I will not make a statement of endorsement or to the contrary on this blog. There are a lot of matters to consider on this, and they all need to be done so in a proper manner.

    The purpose of Gracedale is to provide quality nursing care in public facility. Gracedale is geared to meet the total needs of the adult resident who cannot be maintained in the community, despite appropriate assistance from multiple agencies. Those who lack the necessary resources for private nursing homes are a priority here. Provisions are made for medical, recreational, emotional, and spiritual needs.

    When I look at this comment that is listed on the county website as why Gracedale is here in the first place, I am concerned over the potential problems that will be generated in years to come. Gracedale is a place that basically is for people who are unable to afford private nursing homes. The question I have, where do these people go if this is privatized. Where do the baby boomers over the next twenty to thirty years go when they become incapacitated? Have we thought about the placement of these people from today and from tomorrow? Have we also thought about the impact of the Lehigh Valley losing another eight hundred jobs in the middle of an economic crisis? These are just some thoughts that I have on the matter.

    Mr. Cuisack stated the other night that they have utilized Gracedale money in the past because of the excess that it had created. IF that comment is true, did we mismanage the situation that bad as a government, and why now is the matter only coming to light. It's not that government can't run Gracedale, it only means that the government we currently have can't run it as efficiently as it could.

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  4. It seems the rotton apple does not fall far from the tree.
    Ron Jr. was arrested for shoplifting in NJ.
    The disbarred lawyer blogger has removed the anon posting from his self important silly little site as of last night. This in an effort to control the dialog.
    Talk about anon cowards.

    ReplyDelete
  5. OK, I will talk about Anon cowards. You are one of them. So is the author of this blog. And it is likely that you and the author of this blog are one and the same person.

    It is by now very clear that this is just another effort by all of the Angle haters to spew their venom, and do so as cowards too afraid to identify themselves.

    This is a hate blog and I won't link to it.

    Now that you have your own little sandbox to play in, you have no reason to visit my blog.

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  6. Hey Bernie
    Paranoid much?
    Happy to be of service
    BTW
    I was on the grassey knoll as well
    LOL
    BOO!!! DAMMIT!!!
    I'm Gumby

    ReplyDelete