In response to recent articles about the Albany County Nursing Home ("Loan part of home deal," Nov. 13, and "Home lease still an issue," Nov. 20), I would urge our county legislators to embrace County Executive Dan McCoy's solution — to lease the home to a private company, thus continuing to serve our most vulnerable residents while saving taxpayers millions of dollars.
Last year, I served on a nonpartisan health subcommittee that advised Mr. McCoy on pressing health care issues. We recommended unequivocally that Albany County should exit, both carefully and thoughtfully, the nursing home business. Simply said, the Albany County Nursing Home is outdated, and the county cannot afford to maintain it. Couple that fiscal reality with an environment in which federal and state governments are implementing health care reform at an aggressive pace and the mode of care is shifting toward community-based services, it is clear that an Albany County-run home has little chance of survival.
Mr. McCoy's answer to this serious dilemma offers a safety net for current residents who can remain there. It also affords Albany County income that can be used to provide more community-based health services to our county's seniors.
If we are like-minded in our concern for the well-being of our seniors as well as for a county government that is both prudent and pragmatic, I encourage lawmakers to champion this solution and support privatization of the Albany County Nursing Home.
JAMES J. BARBA
President & CEO
Albany Medical Center