STRANGE EXPLAINS VOTE IN EMOTIONAL AND PERSONAL WAY BEFORE VOTE
The Chemung County Legislature voted at its regular meeting on February 11, 2013 to enter into an agreement with Marcus and Millichap Real Estate Investment Services for the marketing of the Chemung County Nursing Facility.
The agreement calls for Marcus and Millichap to seek possible buyers for the facility should the County Legislature decides sometime in the future to sell it.
Currently, County Executive Tom Santulli is agressively pursuing a public/private partnership between the county and Arnot Health or Guthrie Medical Services. The partnership could allow the county to continue to own the facility while either Arnot or Guthrie run the day-to-day operations of the nursing home. This type of partnership would be the first of its kind in New York State.
“I know the type of care that is provided at the Chemung County Nursing Facility,” Legislator Rodney J. Strange during discussion before the vote. “One year ago this month I had to make the most difficult decision of my life. I had to put my dad in a nursing home. I chose the Chemung County Nursing Facility. My dad entered the facility on February 28 of last year and stayed there until his death on September 7th. This vote is not about the care that is provided at the facility. Many people here tonight took care of my father and our family. I lived my life at the nursing facility for those 6 months. My sister and I and other family members were there everyday sometimes 2 and 3 times a day. I know the work the employees do every day. This agreement is a peice of the puzzle to allow us to get the information we will need to make an informed decision. If we do nothing, I believe the legislature will be back here 4-5 years from now voting to shut down the facility because of fiscal reasons,” Strange said. “We as legislators were put here to make the hard decisions. We need the information to make them. We are here to lead. That is why I support this resolution.”