Friends of CCNH Defend Asset

The Chair of the Friends of the Champaign County Nursing Home pointed out concerns about the negativity towards the home (including criticism of push polling connected to the County Clerk and County Executive candidate) and offered some suggestions to ensure that patients are taken care of beyond the sales requirements. Here's an excerpt from the article in the News-Gazette:

While some of us in the county have had direct experience with the home and prize it as a public asset with a very long history of caring for the most vulnerable and destitute, there has been an onslaught of negativity from the Republicans, The News-Gazette and county board Democrat Patsi Petri...

It would be preferable if the county would also: (1) seek out, or give priority to, nonprofit buyers because of their better records nation-wide; (2) exclude from consideration corporations engaged in "related property transactions" that do business only with their own separate companies for services (according to Kaiser Health News, quality of care is worst among this kind of private company, New York Times, 1/7/18, page 1 Business); and (3) exclude from consideration any buyers, private or public, whose nursing homes average less than a 2-star rating, which is the rating of our nursing home now.

We have to consider the welfare of the residents of our nursing home. Whatever the problems our home is presently confronting, we cannot in good conscience deliver the residents to a worse situation as a result of a sale. Fortunately, an actual sale would require affirmative votes by 15 board members, two more than just approved putting the home up for sale. If we reach a point where we advocates cannot prevent a sale, then at least we can pressure members of the board to act in the best interests of present and future residents.