I am really tired of Steve Neuhaus threats. And so should you be. In this desperate memo sent out to staff at todays 11th hour before the public hearing, Neuhaus once again threatens to lay off staff if he doesnt get his way. I say, were stronger than that! Dont let him bully you! Ask Steve Neuhaus to stop working for the private sector. Hes been elected as a public official and he needs to not only advocate for the public, but start rolling up his sleeves and act like an administrator! Dear Fellow Employee: This week I will be proposing the 2015 Orange County Budget. As part of the budget, I will recommend we transfer the Valley View Center for Nursing Care and Rehabilitation to a Local Development Corporation so that its operations can be transferred to a private provider. While I understand this will upset Valley View employees, and I respect their right to be upset with that decision, it is the right thing to do for the residents of Valley View, the taxpayers of Orange County, and the many other county workers who provide important services to our residents. Four potential private operators for Valley View have now responded in detail to the county legislature’s questions on job preservation and healthcare quality. Sample responses to key questions from the various bidders are: Describe your staffing plans: Focus Ventures responded: “Focus will offer employment to all current Valley View staffers. … All in all, our approach will be to keep, improve, and add to the existing staffing plan with a constant eye on care for residents and patients.” Will you commit to keeping existing residents at Valley View? VestraCare responded: “Every resident has the right to receive the least restrictive modality of appropriate care. Under no circumstance would VestraCare evict a resident from its facilities … .” What programs does Valley View presently offer that you would not offer if you acquired it? Comprehensive Healthcare Management Services responded: “It is not Comprehensive’s intention to eliminate any of the programs at Valley View. Our goal is to fortify and enhance the facility’s existing programs … .” What programs do your facilities offer that are not offered at Valley View? Do you plan on bringing those programs to Valley View? Zenith Care Health Group responded: “Zenith desires to continue the existing long term care plans in place at the facility and to bring additional services, already successfully implemented at other Zenith facilities, to the building including a better oral hygiene program, in-house dialysis, cardiac therapy program, etc., and to utilize tools like tele-medicine and expansion of the range of expertise of the medical board to ensure areas of medical necessity are better covered … .” You can read the full responses here: orangecountygov/filestorage/1140/17716/Valley_View_Proposers%27_Responses_9-29-14.PDF The alternatives to selling Valley View, as I see them, are as follows: · Layoffs would have to occur in every other county department and office. A tentative plan, if Valley View is not sold, would be to undertake over 400 job cuts, with more than 250 coming from Social Services, Health, Public Works, and the County Jail alone. or · The county legislature could raise taxes 20 percent -- something not one legislator has agreed to do. While I know some legislators come to CSEA meetings and make bold promises to you, not one has introduced the required local law to bust the tax cap. There are currently nine other nursing homes in Orange County, each with employees who perform the same tasks as those working at Valley View. None of these nine nursing homes is funded by county property taxes. Government provides many unique services, such as operation of the County Jail, emergency services, and public works. As we tighten our belts and make the tough budget choices that will keep this community moving forward, we ought to revisit which services are essential and which ones can better be performed by the private sector. My proposed budget will present a solution: and it involves zero layoffs for county employees. Some will go to the private sector if my budget plan passes, but none will be forced onto the unemployment line. However, if Orange County legislators once again put off the tough decisions, hundreds of workers in our county departments would be at risk. I take no joy in confronting the hard reality of a budget mess that was handed to this administration. I intend, however, to responsibly balance the county’s finances and clean up the mess, making our community stronger in the long term. I encourage you to review the offers made by the potential Valley View purchasers on Monday and consider the facts outlined above. Sincerely, cid:[email protected] Steven M. Neuhaus County Executive
Posted on: Mon, 29 Sep 2014 21:43:42 +0000
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