Ex-Saratoga County infirmary ready for new chapter

Maplewood Manor, Saratoga County's public nursing home in Ballston Spa.

The new private operator of the former Saratoga County Maplewood Manor nursing home has given it a new name and is planning physical improvements.

The 257-bed nursing home on Ballston Avenue is now the Saratoga Center for Rehabilitation and Skilled Nursing Care, though as of last week the entrance sign continued to identify it as Maplewood Manor.

Zenith Care Health Group of Nassau County purchased the nursing home from Saratoga County on Feb. 1, culminating a protracted purchase process.

Zenith is paying the county $14.1 million in installments over several years and has plans to spend at least $2.5 million on physical upgrades to the 40-year-old facility. The county has made few investments over the years.

“Obviously, we would like the facility to be viable, to be around for a long time and to be the best facility for providing this kind of care,” said Zenith spokesman Aaron Lichtman. “The stronger it is, the happier everyone is. Care is the facility’s No. 1 concern.”

The transition has been bumpy, as former public-sector employees have seen pay cuts and benefit reductions as their jobs moved to the private sector. About half the staff has left, though about 120 who worked for the county have joined Zenith.

“The employees who have stayed with us are stellar,” Lichtman said. “They really care about the residents.”

In a letter sent to residents’ families Jan. 29, Zenith said it plans to invest in the physical facility, which was built in the 1970s.

Zenith has hired a new administrator, Shannon Cayea, with experience in public-to-private nursing home transitions and has also brought in outside medical, nursing and needs consultants.

Planned renovations include new furnishings, a more home-like atmosphere, and installation of a computer network. A conversion to electronic record-keeping will allow employees to spend more time with patients, Lichtman said. New patient lifts are also being purchased.

A more comprehensive oral hygiene program, in-house dialysis, cardiac therapy and increased access to a range of doctors through video links are also under consideration, according to the letter to families.

The county sold Maplewood Manor to put an end to a series of multi-million-dollar annual losses that had drained county funds and caused property tax increases.

“It cannot continue to exist as a financially insecure, publicly owned facility that the county cannot afford,” County Administrator Spencer P. Hellwig said Jan. 29, when the transaction was being finalized.

A number of counties around New York state that have historically operated nursing homes have made similar decisions in recent years, citing the financial strain of paying for the care of people for whom they say they receive inadequate Medicaid reimbursements.

Medicaid is the government program that covers the nursing home care of indigent elderly. Maplewood, like other public facilities, historically had more Medicaid patients than most private nursing homes do.

In 2010, 92 percent of county nursing homes in New York state lost money, according to a study in 2013 by the Center for Government Research in Rochester. Public nursing homes usually have higher employee health insurance and pension costs than private homes, the study found.

Maplewood’s sale was pending for more than a year, and was discussed for two years before that. The sale was bitterly fought by employees who feared job eliminations and pay cuts — predictions that have come true.

The Civil Service Employees Association, which represented Maplewood employees when they worked for the county, negotiated a tentative contract agreement with Zenith before the sale went through, but employees twice rejected it — apparently due to its pay and benefit reductions.

CSEA spokeswoman Therese Assalian said the union’s representation of Maplewood workers ended with the Zenith takeover, but the union hopes to be recognized as representing the employees in the future.

“It seemed there was a pretty decent working relationship between CSEA and Zenith, so we’re optimistic,” she said.

Lichtman said Zenith would be pleased to work with CSEA, if enough employees are union members.

Lichtman said the pay reductions are the economic reality, given the losses the county was experiencing.

“To come into that type of situation, employees need to have pay scales found at nursing homes, as opposed to county facilities,” he said.

County officials said they believe things are improving, though the first few days were rough.

“Obviously, things are going to be different,” said Hadley Supervisor Arthur Wright, chairman of the Maplewood Manor Local Development Corp., which was set up by the county to facilitate the sale. “The county was losing money at it, and a private employer can’t do that.”

On Feb. 1, the day Zenith took over management, it threw a Super Bowl party for residents.

“It was a seamless transition. The residents are fine,” said Clifton Park Supervisor Anita M. Daly, chairwoman of the county Personnel Committee.

Zenith is actively recruiting licensed practical nurses, certified nursing assistants and activities aides, both full- and part-time. Two job fairs were held last week, and Lichtman said there are about 35 positions to fill.

“It seems like every day things are getting better as we fill staff positions,” Lichtman said.

Zenith also owns nursing homes in Dutchess County, New Jersey, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania.

County officials blame Maplewood’s losses over the last decade for draining what was once a $30 million county surplus, and forcing property tax increases between 2011 and 2014.

“We had no choice,” Wright said.

The decision to sell was made after the county commissioned an outside study in 2012, though it took another year to select a buyer and another year after that to go through state Health Department review of the sale.

Final Health Department approval came in January. Among the conditions the state set is that the Zenith-owned home continue to accept new Medicaid-funded residents.

Much of the $14.1 million the county is receiving for Maplewood is expected to be set aside for future pension and health care costs of the employees, county officials said.