GOSHEN – It cost Orange County $2.5 million in taxpayer dollars to operate the Valley View nursing home in Goshen last year, according to an audit of the facility.
That is a far cry from the multi-millions it cost to subsidize the center in recent past years.
County legislature Health and Mental Health Committee Chairman Michael Anagnostakis said after Wednesday’s meeting that the financial situation is looking up.
“When a few years ago people were running it into the ground and telling us it would cost $30 million to the taxpayers, today we find out it’s not $30 million, it’s a couple of million and it actually costs more to get rid of it than to keep it so we are saving taxpayer money and we are providing a great service,” Anagnostakis said.
County Executive Steven Neuhaus, who had wanted to privatize the center,
acknowledged
finances are moving in a positive direction.
“Whether the county keeps it or privatizes it, right now we have a duty to own it, operate it and continue to move it in the right direction and allow it to function with a high standard,” Neuhaus said.
County Finance Commissioner Tawnya Muhlrad said Valley View is “making financial progress” but she is concerned about the future of the Intergovernmental Transfer Revenue which is “uncertain at best.” She said the federal government intends to replace the IGT program with a revised managed care methodology. “At this time, we cannot be certain what this means long term for Valley View,” Muhlrad said.
