Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - As 1199SEIU fights to keep Weinberg Campus open, a health care consultant says the closure is avoidable.
"No matter which side you look at, it's just an unfortunate situation, and it's going to impact people," said John Bartimole, former president of the New York State Healthcare Association. "I think there may have been ways around it, and we could talk about reimbursement, there are a lot of things we could talk about. But the reality is, health care is underfunded, both in the Medicaid and in the Medicare fronts."
Bartimole says if proper reimbursement had been forthcoming, this could have been avoided.
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While closure may have been avoidable, there's truth on both sides of the issue.
"If you put all the good points together, you probably have the reason. I don't know the financials particularly, but I do know that this has been a source of underfunding for as long as I've been in health care. So I would agree that, yes, had there been proper funding, it may have been certainly avoidable," Bartimole noted.
Funding is a battle Bartimole has fought for some 25 years.
"It's a very difficult battle. The state has a budget that it has to live with. Medicaid is extremely expensive, and it's onerous," Bartimole said. "It's onerous on the people who fund it, it's onerous on the people who provide the services, and it's onerous on the patients who don't get the services because of the underfunding, but it's the patients who get hurt."
Bartimole believes if the State Department of Health wants to keep Weinberg open, it could happen.
"Maybe there is a solution that I'm not aware of, but I'm hopeful that as long as there is discussion, there is hope, because we want to make sure that those people get to get the help that they that they need," Bartimole said.
The DOH provided WBEN with the following statement:
"The well-being of nursing home residents is, and will continue to be, a top priority of the New York State Department of Health. While the Department has approved the closure plan submitted by the Weinberg Campus for the Rosa Coplon Living Center, DOH will ensure the facility operator and administrator carry out a safe and orderly closure that respects the needs and desires of - and is as minimally disruptive as possible to - the residents and their families.
"The Department approved the closure plan after Counsel for Weinberg presented the resolution from the Board of Directors, which voted to approve the closure and potential liquidation of assets due to significant debt that is impeding the nursing home from meeting its immediate obligations to safeguard and serve residents. In addition, the Department has reviewed the significant debt outlined and provided by Weinberg’s CEO, in which millions of dollars are past due and affect all aspects of Weinberg’s operations.
"DOH staff have been onsite monitoring the services provided for the past several days after intervening to ensure all employees were paid last week and that utilities were secure. While we are disturbed by the Board and CEO’s inaction to address the underlying concerns that directly impact the health and safety of the campus’ residents, the Department will ensure that the facility remains operational until all residents have been safely placed elsewhere."