(Published Wednesday, February 7, 2007 11:38:37 AM CST)
A d v e r t i s e m e n t
By Stacy Vogel Gazette staff
A shortage of nurses is making it unsafe to fill all the beds at the county-run Rock Haven Nursing Home, the nursing home administrator said.
The Rock County Board will decide Thursday whether to downsize the facility.
"We are facing a huge nursing shortage in the Madison area, and we are dealing with the effects of that," Sherry Gunderson, county nursing home administrator, told the health services committee Tuesday. "It is not a matter of not wanting to accept more patients."
After a heated debate, the committee voted 3-2 in favor cutting the number of licensed beds at Rock Haven from 156 to 130.
Gunderson drafted the resolution in part because Rock Haven is short 25 employees.
Fewer residents would mean a higher quality of care for residents, Gunderson said. Rock Haven right now faces heavy state and federal penalties related to two incidents last year in which state authorities found staff acted improperly.
Gunderson cited studies that found nursing homes with 100 to 125 beds give a higher quality of care.
"Smaller nursing homes do better, and we are in the position that we must make changes," she said.
With fewer residents, the staff would be able to pay more attention to each resident, and supervisors could hold nurses more accountable, she said. She predicted fewer conflicts between residents as well because more residents would have private rooms.
But Supervisor Marilynn Jensen questioned whether Gunderson had done everything possible to fill the vacant positions and asked why the resolution was being pushed through so quickly. She didn't find out about the proposal until Jan. 31, she said.
"I just think this is too fast, too soon," she said.
Gunderson said the decision needs to be made quickly because now is an ideal time to downsize.
The nursing home already has 10 vacant beds, and several short-term rehabilitation patients plan to go home in the coming weeks, she said. She estimated that the county could complete the reduction by March without involuntarily discharging any residents.
Because of the staff shortage, no employees would be laid off, although some would change positions, she said.
Health care professionals spoke for and against the proposal.
Danielle Tracy, a patient-community liaison for Alden Meadow Park Nursing Home in Clinton, said she worried about Janesville patients who would have to go far from home for care.
"When you have to tell an 80-year-old woman or gentleman that 'I'm sorry, Janesville is all full in their nursing homes, but you can come to Clinton and drive 20 miles in the snow,' they aren't going to take that very well," she said.
But Leslie Smyth-Ayen, a registered nurse at Rock Haven, said the state with its Family Care plan is calling for more elderly to live in the community instead of government-run institutions. Rock County does not use the Family Care plan now but is making plans to enact it in the future.
"Why not start planning for that now?" she asked. "With this plan and your help, we can help bring Rock County into the future."
Rock Haven pays a tax on all licensed beds whether or not they're being used. The reduction could save $200,000 a year in tax levy, according to Jeffrey Smith, county finance director.
Supervisors Betty Jo Bussie, Russ Podzilni and Fred Yoss supported the resolution. Supervisors Jensen and James Joiner opposed. The resolution now moves to the full board for a vote Thursday morning.
