Pennsylvania Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer Blog
It’s become a recurring theme in Pennsylvania: the question of whether selling a county nursing home will save taxpayers money while providing adequate care to nursing home residents.
The Morning Call of Allentown reported that this issue is now being discussed in Lehigh County as they weigh the pros and cons of keeping Cedarbrook county-owned or allowing a private company to take the reigns.
There are concerns that privatization could cause the elderly with limited financial resources to be turned away from a privately-run home. Executive Don Cunningham is quoted in the article as saying, “There has to be somewhere for seniors to go who do not have resources to pay for private care, to receive care in their golden years in a quality way.”
Some fear that the sale of the nursing home could change the nature of the facility. Cedarbook’s Director Terry Lopus is quoted in the article as saying, “There’s a lot of focus on the bottom line in a purely private facility.”
In terms of care, the article notes that counties across the state of Pennsylvania that have sold their nursing homes generally scored very low on Medicare’s star rating system.
We’ll be keeping an eye on this story and the outcome for Cedarbrook as it continues to develop.