Sale of Fulton County’s nursing home expected to be complete by April 1

PHOTOGRAPHER: Michael Lamendola

Fulton County expects to turn over operations of its nursing home to a private company by April 1, according to Administrative Officer Jon Stead.

The Centers for Specialty Care of the Bronx bought the 176-bed Fulton County Residential Health Care Facility for $3.5 million.

Stead said the transition from public to private ownership has moved smoothly and will occur well within the funding time frame set by the county Board of Supervisors. The board had provided only enough funds in the 2012 budget to operate the facility for the first quarter of the year.

If the nursing home had remained in county hands beyond the first quarter, supervisors would have had to amend the budget, Stead said. “That is what we budgeted for and what we expected,” he said.

Also, the county booked the purchase price for the nursing home as revenue in the 2012 budget, and it expects to receive the outstanding balance when the final transfer takes place, Stead said.

“One of the issues the board faced was whether to budget for the actual sale proceeds when developing its budget last year. We did budget it as revenue so we did not have to raise taxes,” he said.

CSC will do business as Fulton Operating Associates and operate the home under the name of the Fulton Center for Rehabilitation and Healthcare, according to the state Health Department.

In a related development, nursing home Administrator Jennifer Gilston resigned Wednesday, Stead said. Her resignation was expected, he said.

Until CSC takes over, Suzanne Rose, who is the nursing home’s comptroller, will serve as acting administrator. The Board of Supervisors appointed her Wednesday. The county also contracted with a company to provide supervising administration for running the home during the transition.