Clinton County legislators have a very difficult decision to make tonight on an emotional issue.
For the past 45 years, the county has operated its own service to provide home-health care to its citizens. County workers, who are members of the Civil Service Employees Association, go into homes to administer medicine, therapy and other services to ailing, elderly and disabled residents who qualify for care.
The program used to make money for the county: about $240,000 in 2005 and around $73,000 in 2006, the last years it was in the black.
Since then, the service has grown in expense to the point where it is a serious drain on the county budget. It was more than $2 million in the red for 2010, and county officials are expecting similar losses for this year.
So county legislators have been looking at contracting the service out and sought bids from private companies. Tonight, they will decide whether to give the job to HCR Home Care, a business located in Rochester.
First off, let's get this straight: Home-health care is a crucially important service. It saves money by keeping people out of nursing homes, where care is much more expensive. It also saves lives. People who are home alone may not remember to take medication, for example.
So the service is essential, but is it essential that it be done by the county?
The nurses and other home-health staff want to continue to work for the county. They are afraid a contracted agency won't hire them or won't pay them as much as they are making now. They have genuine concern for their patients, some of whom they have worked with for years. They also worry that a contract agency would care only about the bottom line, not about the people.
The patients and other agencies that see the benefits of the county program, including the North Country Center for Independence, are understandably nervous about the prospect of change. They don't want to lose the caring staff and have concerns that local accountability would be lost.
While those are certainly concerns worth addressing, there is no reason to think that a private company would not provide compassionate, complete and efficient care. County legislators say HCR Home Care has a good reputation, and companies must meet state standards. Also, the county can demand accountability in its contract.
As for the loss of jobs, a private company would be foolish not to hire the local people who have worked with clients here. It is not only bad public relations, it is not a smart business decision because local staff already know the needs, personalities and locations of people who need the service.
The county — under intensive financial pressure — has to look at the big picture. It cannot continue to saddle taxpayers with millions of dollars worth of debt when there is a solution that can continue an excellent service at much lower cost.
Unless the CSEA comes in tonight with enough pay and benefit concessions to make this service profitable, the county has no choice but to contract out its home-health services.
Source http://pressrepublican.com/
For the past 45 years, the county has operated its own service to provide home-health care to its citizens. County workers, who are members of the Civil Service Employees Association, go into homes to administer medicine, therapy and other services to ailing, elderly and disabled residents who qualify for care.
The program used to make money for the county: about $240,000 in 2005 and around $73,000 in 2006, the last years it was in the black.
Since then, the service has grown in expense to the point where it is a serious drain on the county budget. It was more than $2 million in the red for 2010, and county officials are expecting similar losses for this year.
So county legislators have been looking at contracting the service out and sought bids from private companies. Tonight, they will decide whether to give the job to HCR Home Care, a business located in Rochester.
First off, let's get this straight: Home-health care is a crucially important service. It saves money by keeping people out of nursing homes, where care is much more expensive. It also saves lives. People who are home alone may not remember to take medication, for example.
So the service is essential, but is it essential that it be done by the county?
The nurses and other home-health staff want to continue to work for the county. They are afraid a contracted agency won't hire them or won't pay them as much as they are making now. They have genuine concern for their patients, some of whom they have worked with for years. They also worry that a contract agency would care only about the bottom line, not about the people.
The patients and other agencies that see the benefits of the county program, including the North Country Center for Independence, are understandably nervous about the prospect of change. They don't want to lose the caring staff and have concerns that local accountability would be lost.
While those are certainly concerns worth addressing, there is no reason to think that a private company would not provide compassionate, complete and efficient care. County legislators say HCR Home Care has a good reputation, and companies must meet state standards. Also, the county can demand accountability in its contract.
As for the loss of jobs, a private company would be foolish not to hire the local people who have worked with clients here. It is not only bad public relations, it is not a smart business decision because local staff already know the needs, personalities and locations of people who need the service.
The county — under intensive financial pressure — has to look at the big picture. It cannot continue to saddle taxpayers with millions of dollars worth of debt when there is a solution that can continue an excellent service at much lower cost.
Unless the CSEA comes in tonight with enough pay and benefit concessions to make this service profitable, the county has no choice but to contract out its home-health services.
Source http://pressrepublican.com/
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