Jeff Berkman ON VALLEY VIEW

Sorry Nieces and Nephews, Auntie was having technical issues. The formatting was lost but here is the EXACT content of Jeff's Letter on VALLEY VIEW:


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County Legislature
Jeffrey D. Berkman, Minority Leader
20th Legislative District
46 Cantrell Avenue
Middletown, NY 10940
Tel: (845) 291-4800 Fax: (845) 343-9158
Draft AS OF 9/15/14 #5
SAVED, SMALLER AND STILL HERE -Downsizing Concept for Valley View, AS A WAY TO SAVE IT
1. Valley View is currently a county owned facility of 360 beds. Employment for Valley View historically consisted of 415 employees. Current levels are closer to 370 employees. The average salary is approximately $54,000. When benefits are included, the county expenses would be estimated to be $74,000 per person. If retirement, overtime, and other costs are included, the county expenses can exceed $90,000 per employee.
2. This concept that I am submitting for consideration is for downsizing the county owned facility to 240 beds. The 120 beds could be transferred to a private operator affiliated with Touro Medical School for Osteopathic Medicine. These 120 beds would continue to serve our local Orange County community. The Danza Group, owner of the former Horton Hospital where Touro-Middletown is located, could partner with a firm that provides quality nursing care and can be affiliated with Touro Medical School. Each of the 120 residents could be assigned a doctoral medical student, enrolled at Touro Medical School in Middletown. These students could monitor the care and provide
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advocacy for their patients as a component of their training experience, providing an additional level of care and for these resident patients.
3. As a term of this conceptual plan, the revenue acquired from the transfer of serviceable beds, conservatively estimated to be $5 million dollars, shall be placed in a “locked box” for the purpose of providing revenue for sustaining a smaller Valley View facility. A main objective of this conceptual plan is to help sustain a more secure county funding source. At this size there is a reasonable chance that Valley View operations will have a minimal impact on local county taxation.
4. Some county employees may have to face the choice of relocation to other county department positions, or agree to accept employment in the new Danza-Horton facility. Those Valley View employees transferred to the former Horton Hospital in Middletown should have first priority consideration to be newly hired employees at the Horton facility. Others are selecting the early retirement option that has recently been offered.
5. Valley View would remain as a 240 bed county-owned facility and not be considered for sale, transfer, or corporate ownership alteration for a period of no less than two years. At the conclusion of this two year period, the County Executive and the Valley View facility director should be obligated to issue a status report concerning the expenses and operations of Valley View, with corresponding recommendations. Their recommendations shall be submitted to the Chairman of the Orange County Legislature, the appropriate oversight committees and the full legislature for evaluation.
6. The employees of the 120 bed new facility at the former Horton Hospital site, shall be represented by CSEA, their current Union representatives, or other organized labor
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entities of their choosing, as permitted and protected by federal law, regarding employee rights to organize.
7. The current administration of Valley View appears to currently have the confidence of all parties. By reducing the size of Valley View, Orange County can reduce labor costs by several millions of dollars per year. It is understood that state and federal reimbursement aid will be reduced because less residents will be served. A smaller Valley View should provide the opportunity to operate at a lesser cost. The annual budget expenditures for Valley View can be significantly reduced, at a time of maximum fiscal concern and budgetary pressures which results in long term savings for Orange County taxpayers.
Please consider the conceptual plan and let me know if you have any interest in analyzing this concept or recommending refinements or structural changes.
jeffberkman
   

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