Chairperson Statement re: The Villages

Orleans County Dem Party warned selling nursing home would result in decline of care

Posted 8 December 2022 at 11:28 am

Editor:

In response to the recent editorial written by Mary Mager on Orleans County’s sale of the county nursing home, I want to remind the county, its legislature and citizens, and the media that Orleans County Democrats long warned that privatization of the nursing home would result in each of the problems Ms. Mager described.

We further identified the strong potential, if not an inevitability, that the profit motive would decrease the quality of care and limit access to vital services. All of this harm has happened and, in light of the Covid-19 pandemic, the greed of those involved has degraded what was once a quality institution and operation serving Orleans residents.

We laud the efforts of New York Attorney General Letitia James to bring justice to the home’s residents and their families for the grievous behavior of the operators. It bears keeping in mind the hard-fought campaign to save the nursing home and the subsequent vote by the county citizenry to do so.

Jeffrey Lewis

Chairman

Orleans County Democratic Party