Monmouth: No less than $14.5M for nursing homes

Aug. 28--FREEHOLD -- Monmouth County won't accept less than $14.5 million for the two nursing homes it plans to sell at a public auction in October, according to a resolution county leaders will consider later today.

The price tag is just one of several conditions Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders will place on the sale of John L. Montgomery and Geraldine L. Thompson care centers.

The public auction will take place Oct. 20 at the Monmouth County Agricultural Building in Freehold, according to the resolution. Freeholders voted in March to sell the nursing homes after facing years of operating shortfalls caused largely by declines in Medicaid reimbursement rates.

A potential owner would have to agree to operate the two care centers as nursing homes for at least 10 years, according to the conditions of sale released Thursday afternoon. Freeholders have long said that one of their reasons to sell was to preserve the centers as nursing homes with an owner better equipped to manage the financial situation.\

* a prohibition on transferring or releasing any of the residents living in the nursing homes now unless the resident gives written consent or an independent medical professional determines it is medically necessary for the resident to be transferred. This condition is intended to safeguard current residents, who have expressed fears that they'll be force to leave the care centers under new ownership.

* a requirement that at least 65 percent of the beds in the two nursing home are available for Monmouth County residents or their family members. This would allow a Monmouth County resident to admit their parent or other relative to John L. Montgomery or Geraldine L. Thompson from another county or state.

* a requirement that at least 65 percent of the beds are set aside for government-subsidized payees. As it is now, more than 90 percent of the residents in the two care centers are on Medicaid.

* a requirement that the new owner at least interview all county employees working at the nursing home for a potential job. Monmouth County has also been working to place nursing home employees in other related county jobs when there are openings, County Administrator Teri O'Connor said. At least 12 care center employees have been placed elsewhere in the county and additional interviews are upcoming, she said.

The conditions are non-negotiable, Monmouth County Counsel Andrea Bazer said.

The two care centers have faced shortfalls of about $47 million since 2007. The operating losses have stabilized at about $7 million a year despite the county's attempts to cut its expenses. Monmouth County made up the difference using other general fund revenues, which include property taxes.

Freeholders decided to move ahead with the sale after realizing the nursing home shortfalls would have required them to increase property taxes.

Yet, supporters of the county-run nursing homes have said they see no difference between using tax dollars to fund the care centers and paying for the county's roads and jail.

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