Debate over possible sale of Cumberland County’s nursing home remains hot as foes renew call for pause

The battle over whether Cumberland County commissioners should sell the Claremont Nursing and Rehabilitation Center doesn’t seem to be cooling down at all.

That was evident Monday morning when the commissioners again heard multiple pleas to call off the sale investigation indefinitely, or at least defer it until the COVID-19 pandemic passes.

Those requests came during a meeting during at county officials cited the county-owned nursing home’s financial losses and ongoing difficulty in recruiting and retaining staff. The highlighted a nearly $1 million decline in the home’s find balance over the past year. The possibility that federal authorities will require $500,000 to $900,000 in fire safety to be made at the facility also was mentioned.

Commissioners have said those pressures prompted the sale initiative, which announced in November. Six private bidders have submitted offers to buy the facility. Commissioners are investigating those offers and have not made a final decision on whether to sell.

Yet several commenters at the meeting, including members of the citizens group Saving Claremont, were openly skeptical that Claremont’s situation is in fact so dire.

They insisted that now, with the coronavirus raging, is a lousy time to try to sell a nursing facility or any county asset. The timing also is causing undue psychological stress on Claremont residents and their families, sale opponents said.

One of them, Tim Potts, cited a claim by opponents that it would cost the owner of a home valued at $200,000 an extra $20 a year to fill Claremont’s financial gaps. “That’s the cost of one Hershey Bar a month,” Potts said.

When another commenter, Liz Reilly, asked if that $20 figure is accurate, Commission Chairman Gary Eichelberger replied that he considers it to be “highly speculative.”

“I don’t accept the $20 number personally because there’s not enough evidence behind it,” Eichelberger said.

Reilly said commissioners should halt the sale probe until they can prove or disprove the $20 claim. “Put a pause on this until you can fully inform the citizens about what the cost might be to save this service,” she said.

Potts told the commissioners they should follow the direction of the Hippocratic Oath to “First, do no harm” before making “the most consequential decision you will make during your terms in office.” He urged them to do a cost-benefits analysis to determine “the value Claremont adds to our community.”

Morgan Plant, a Saving Claremont member, urged commissioners to “slow down.” The newly installed Biden Administration might provide financial aid to allay Claremont’s fiscal concerns, she said.

Plant insisted that, as gauged by state and federal ratings, Claremont provides “a much better standard of care” than any of the private bidders – Allaire Health Services, Bed Rock Care, Kadima Healthcare Group, Premier Healthcare Management, Transitions Healthcare LLC, and Tryco.

Mark Price, a labor economist, contended Claremont’s fiscal challenged “are not insurmountable” and that “the county is in a position to financially aid Claremont.”

Rick Coplen, a member of Saving Claremont’s steering committee, said 757 people have signed the group’s online petition calling for a halt to the sale probe. “Please pause the sale of Claremont…to consider other options,” he said.

“The issue at the end of the day is how do we care for senior citizens in Cumberland County,” Commissioner Jean Fosci said. “This is not a political football. This is not a game to be.”

“This should not be a political football,” Eichelberger agreed. He promised the commenters their input will become part of the “quilt of context” commissioners fashion in making a final decision on the sale option.

___

(c)2021 The Patriot-News (Harrisburg, Pa.)

Visit The Patriot-News (Harrisburg, Pa.) at www.pennlive.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.