{"id":844,"date":"2012-05-03T10:33:59","date_gmt":"2012-05-03T14:33:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/?p=844"},"modified":"2012-05-03T10:33:59","modified_gmt":"2012-05-03T14:33:59","slug":"hundreds-praise-countys-pocopson-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/?p=844","title":{"rendered":"Hundreds praise county’s Pocopson Home"},"content":{"rendered":"

Privatization, other options to be considered in an attempt to stem recent financial losses<\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

By Kathleen Brady Shea<\/strong>, Special to CoatesvilleTimes.com<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Residents packed the Chester County Commissioners' boardroom to voice support for keeping the Pocopson Home county-operated.<\/p><\/div>\n

WEST CHESTER\u00a0 \u2014\u00a0 In its early years, the Pocopson Home served as a point of profit \u2013 as well as pride \u2013 for Chester County. But for more than a decade, the 275-bed nursing facility and geriatic center has bled red ink, prompting periodic discussions about privatization.<\/p>\n

Last night, in the Chester County Commissioners\u2019 boardroom, an impassioned standing-room-only crowd echoed variations on the theme that the Pocopson Home is a county operation of unparalleled value.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow is it possible that we haven\u2019t got the money to run a gem, a jewel like Pocopson in our community?\u201d asked Patricia Barry, citing Chester County\u2019s status as one of the wealthiest counties in the country. \u201cI find that very hard to believe.\u201d\"\"<\/p>\n

Barry, who works at Pocopson, said she was inspired to become a registered nurse by her mother, a former resident at the home.<\/p>\n

Located in Pocopson Township – reportedly named for the Indian word meaning \u201croaring waters\u201d after the stream that flows through it \u2013 the home has generated roaring controversy whenever the county has considered relinquishing control of it, a pattern that continued last night.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Among the speakers were Joanne Jones, president of Premier Healthcare Resources; Ann Feldman, a Downingtown Borough Council member; and Alan Larson, administrator of the Pocopson Home.<\/p><\/div>\n

All three county commissioners stressed that no decision on the home\u2019s fate has been made, and more public meetings will be scheduled to discuss its future. Premier Healthcare Resources, a King of Prussia firm, was contracted months ago to prepare a strategic plan and financial analysis, which its president, Joanne Jones, outlined before the commissioners opened the floor to public comment.<\/p>\n

The report focused on three options for the facility: converting it to a nonprofit 501c3, leasing it to a private operator, or selling it. While the report did not recommend a specific action, it concluded that \u201cthere are opportunities to reduce the county costs of operating Pocopson Home through a change in the ownership structure of the facility.\u201d<\/p>\n

Members of the audience of about 250 included about a dozen Pocopson Home residents, some of whom occupied wheelchairs in the room\u2019s front row. All of the speakers emphasized that any changes would endanger a beloved institution that has provided a lifeline to many.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t need any changes,\u201d insisted Betty Decker, a resident who spoke from her wheelchair and elicited loud applause.<\/p>\n

The majority of residents who addressed the commissioners said they based their opinions on experiences at other facilities. \u201cThis is the one that when I say \u2018good night,\u2019 she doesn\u2019t say, \u2018Take me out of here,\u2019\u201d said Gail Williams, describing her 100-year-old mother.<\/p>\n

Richard Stiles, an emergency-room physician at Chester County Hospital, said he sees patients from a variety of facilities. \u201cThe quality of care is not the same,\u201d he stressed, adding that \u201cwhen we privatize, something has to give\u201d because you are forced to do more with less.<\/p>\n

Commissioner Kathi Cozzone said the board received calls and emails from many residents who could not attend last night\u2019s meeting. \u201cEvery single one commended the care\u201d at the facility, Cozzone said.<\/p>\n

Commissioners\u2019 Chairman Terence Farrell said the county is proud of the home\u2019s reputation but would be remiss if it failed to address the economic realities of declining state and federal health-care reimbursements. The home provides care to residents who depend largely on funding from Medicare and Medicaid.<\/p>\n

According to county figures, the home lost $2.5 million in 2010, a figure that was reduced through a streamlining initiative in 2011to $1.2 million. The projected 2012 loss is $1.4 million.<\/p>\n

Several speakers who acknowledged the dire financial straits had suggestions that ranged from petitioning lawmakers to reallocate lottery funds for elder care to exploring more energy savings at the home to gauging community support for subsidizing the home through a referendum.<\/p>\n

Commissioner Ryan Costello said he hoped the Pocopson Home employees did not feel singled out for scrutiny, pointing out that the board is constantly looking for ways to save money in all of the county\u2019s 54 departments. \u201cI think we all know it\u2019s a special place,\u201d he said of Pocopson.<\/p>\n

Conflict over the facility\u2019s finances have surfaced before. In 1998, then-County Commissioner Andrew E. Dinniman led an emotional fight against a proposal to sell the home to a for-profit company. The following year, the commissioners blamed a tax hike in part on revenue losses from the Pocopson Home, a refrain that was repeated in 2004. More than two years ago, former County Controller Val DiGiorgio suggested the county could save money by hiring a firm to operate the facility.<\/p>\n

The Pocopson Home can trace its ancestry to the Chester County Poor House, which opened in 1800 on a 325-acres tract in Embreeville, which later became a state hospital. In 1855, the facility moved to a 305-acre tract in Pocopson. It was rebuilt as the Pocopson Home in 1951.<\/p>\n

At the conclusion of the two-hour meeting, the commissioners joined Pocopson Home administrator Alan Larson in thanking the audience for its input. Farrell urged people to monitor the county\u2019s web site for information on the next meeting , sometime within the next couple of weeks. Asked if the location would be the same, he looked around the packed room and shook his head. \u201cWe might need a larger venue,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Privatization, other options to be considered in an attempt to stem recent financial losses By Kathleen Brady Shea, Special to CoatesvilleTimes.com WEST CHESTER\u00a0 \u2014\u00a0 In its early years, the Pocopson Home served as a point of profit \u2013 as well as pride \u2013 for Chester County. But for more than a decade, the 275-bed nursing […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":847,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,3],"tags":[20,243,244],"class_list":["post-844","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-featured","tag-chester-county","tag-pocopson-home","tag-privatization"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/844","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=844"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/844\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/847"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=844"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=844"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=844"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}