Health Center Takes Center Stage in County Controversy

by Jonathan Weaver

Dozens of Armstrong County Health Center employees demonstrated last week at a town hall meeting their disagreement with potentially selling the Kittanning facility, and a former County official shares the same opinion.

Former County Commissioner Jack Dunmire – who was in office for 12 years (from 1991 through 2003) - has also now spoken out against a possible sale.

“I am not in-favor of selling the Health Center. We have an obligation and they have an obligation as county commissioners to take care of the people in their county,” Dunmire said Tuesday night during Family-Life TV’s weekly “Talk of the Town” talk show. “This includes the older people and the indigent (financially-poor) people – people that don’t have any money. What would happen if they sold this facility – where would those people go? Are we going to send them to Butler County – Are we going to send them to Indiana County?”

Dunmire indicated he might have been able to relate since his mother was a Health Center resident on a fixed-Social Security income.

While he was in office, Dunmire recalled commissioners budgeting $250,000 in tax revenue annually for the Health Center’s operation. He didn’t believe current commissioners are budgeting nearly $1 million as commissioners claim and is curious on the corporations calling commissioners about the facility weekly.

“I won’t call them liars – I would say they are sending out misinformation to the general public,” Dunmire said. “It sounds as if you’re on the phone everyday – and I don’t think that’s true. I don’t think there’s that many people out there that want to buy the Health Center.”

He predicted, unlike commissioners’ claims, that current union employees – who reportedly start work at about $10.50 per hour - might also be in-danger of losing their jobs in the future due to increasing salaries and benefits. He estimated half of the employees would be terminated within a year if the Health Center is sold.

“50 percent of the employees that put half of their life into that facility taking care of our mothers and our fathers, our aunts and our uncles are going to lose their jobs if this happens,” Dunmire said. “I don’t care what the current Board of Commissioners says – I’ve sat in that seat, and I’ve sat in it for 12 years – and I know what’s going to happen.”

During two of the commissioners’ town hall meetings earlier this month, residents have asked for updates regarding the Kittanning facility.

Before a crowd of more than 50 residents and county employees at the September 15 town hall meeting at the Worthington-West Franklin Firehall, Commissioners Pat Fabian, Jason Renshaw and George Skamai also heard opposition from Health Center Union President Jackie Kamer – who has worked in Environmental Services for 12 years.

“I’m opposed to any sale of the Health Center,” Kamer said. “Out of our 60-some thousand people, sooner-or-later they’re going to be senior citizens. They could be a family member (or) they could be a friend, (and) they’re going to need somewhere to be taken care of when someone cannot take care of them any longer.

“If it privatized, the quality of care goes down. They can also deny community members, who have invested their taxes, their time. Where’s there another County Home willing to accept those residents that spent their life building this community?”

Kamer added that employees are willing to work with the County and have ideas on how to cut costs.

“We’re hoping (commissioners) are as sincere as (employees) are to do that.”

For more than an hour, commissioners addressed the topic – first brought up by Sylvester Travis, of North Buffalo Township (who has a daughter that works at the facility and was concerned about rumors about the facility).

“We care about those jobs there – we do not want those jobs to go anywhere,” Commissioner Chair Fabian reiterated. “If you haven’t heard anything out of our mouths, it’s not happening.”

Social Worker Ashleah Firment, of Kittanning, said the rumors are affecting her job – with phone calls daily and regular emails from worried family members.

“If we have something important to tell you, we’ll tell you,” Renshaw added. “Trust us – the care for the people there and the jobs is our utmost concern. If you don’t get a direct letter or phone call from (the commissioners), it’s a rumor.”

Commissioners said they can also stipulate that employees remain with the sale, along with the beds, and deny any bid that is received.
Jane Travis said taxpayers should have the final say in what happens at the facility.

While the County is accepting and exploring the possible sale, Commissioner Renshaw said the trio is still “considering all avenues” to reduce the annual funding deficit – which in nearing $1 million this year and might eclipse $1.4 million next year due largely to low Medicaid reimbursement rates.

“I think we could live with a $200,000, $300,000 (or) maybe a $400,000 deficit, but when the numbers are approaching $1 million dollars, we need to have some serious conversation about some serious changes,” Fabian said.

During a special public meeting with Susquehanna Group Advisors’ Managing Director Jay Wenger at the end of August, Wenger presented commissioners background on the 115-bed facility – which Armstrong has maintained since the 1970’s – and presented the county with five options – including hiring a management firm or consultant (as Armstrong has already done in the past), leasing operations or converting the property into a non-profit – but ultimately decided the sixth option – selling the facility.

“We see far-greater value in an outright sale – which is option six (rather than transferring to a non-profit),” Wenger said.

“It’s very similar to why the ‘Mom and Pop’ grocery store or barber shop, hardware store or gas stations have disappeared because the economies of scale are into mass purchasing and resource allocation – like a Sheetz convenience store/gas station,” Wenger said in August. “While you see all these small operators disappear in other industries, much the same is occurring in the skilled nursing industry because it’s very, very difficult to operate as a single-site facility and be as competitive.”

Most of the state’s counties used to own facilities, but only 20 remain – including Bradford, Indiana and Westmoreland – due to losing revenue.

In August, Fabian said he had been researching the Armstrong County Health Center since being elected, and found Wenger’s presentation “excellent.”

“For me, it was an easy decision to explore this process of (Request for Proposals),” Fabian said. “Because, we do get calls every single week about the health center. This is something worth exploring at this point.

“This has been a careful evaluation for eight months, and I think this is critical we look at it now (during budget meetings with department heads).”

A RFP stipulation states County officials do not have to accept the highest bid.

Financial losses have also depleted much of the nursing facility’s cash resources.

The Armstrong County Health Center is already projecting to lose more than $600,000 in 2016 – and that is after an agreement with Affinity Health Services was severed and a one-time intergovernmental transfer.

“We had numerous other corporations that approached us about buying the Health Center. Why would a for-profit organization want to buy a facility that’s losing money (though)?” Dunmire asked. “Why would they want to purchase the Health Center if they’re losing a million dollars per year?”

A group of community representatives in addition to county commissioners will make the final decisions and tour facilities operated by other groups.

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