[Vision2020] Selling Latah Health Services

Fri Jan 12 12:36:51 PST 2007

The major problem with the Latah Health Services Building shutting down is not that people won't get care, they will.

  It is not that Gritman won't use the building for Health Care Services, it will.

  The problem is not that Latah Residents don't pay enough taxes, they do.  

  The problem is that those not on Private Care will be shipped out of the community the moment they are no longer independent and their families and friends are no longer able to care for them. 

  Imagine when you are no longer independent, vulnerable to the decisions of other people that don't know you, afraid, lonely, and confused as to where you are going, and now you have to be shipped out of the county, maybe even to another state, away from friends, family, neighbors, and the town and people you know. That is what bothers me, that Latah families can longer visit their Mother when she becomes unable to care for herself, that is the tragedy and what makes me so sad. 

  Latah isn't just for those that are rich, it is suppose to be for everyone, the entire community. That building is a symbol and a place for those that are NOT RICH to be able to come and live and still be with their families. 

  IF we sell that building to Gritman or anyone, yes, we might open some new doors to other forms of health care, but what concerns me is the door that we are shutting on those that are in most need of an open door, permanently. 

  Before you go and vote YES for a dream, think about WHO you are saying NO to at the same time and what a nightmare you will be creating for them, and perhaps yourself that call Latah home. 

  The building is shut down now, yes, but that doesn't mean we should give up hope on our future and the welfare of the elderly and disabled in our community ten weeks after things look grim. I believe that Latah can overcome this challenge and bring back a building that is needed and will be needed; to reopen the doors to a place that isn't just a building, but was a home to many great Moscow and Latah Residents that built this county, brought you so many opportunities, and made this community what it was when you decided to live in Latah.

  Sincerely,

  Donovan J. Arnold
  CNA and Former LHS Employee

Craine Kit <kcraine at verizon.net> wrote:
  Here's my thoughts on the proposal to sell Latah Health Services to 
Gritman and/or drop the reversionary clause.

For at least ten years, a series of County Commissioners--acting on 
behalf of we-the-taxpayers--have failed to provide enough funding to 
maintain the buildings. Based on my visits to the facility during the 
last few years, it has now moldered to a point where it soon will be 
uninhabitable. It will take a massive infusion of money to bring the 
facilities up to code for use as a living facility. I wouldn't be 
surprised if the estimated million dollars is not enough to do that.

Are we-the-taxpayers of Latah County willing to add how-ever-many 
dollars to our property taxes in order to raise a million or more to 
save the structure?

For how-ever-many years, the state legislature--acting on behalf of 
we-the-taxpayers--has failed to fund Medicaid well enough to cover 
the cost of keeping someone in an assisted living facility. If the 
facility is going to survive, it must make up the difference by 
bringing in paying customers or finding some other source of revenue. 
The most reliable source would be the Latah County taxpayer's pocket.

Are we-the-taxpayers of Latah County willing to add how-ever-many 
dollars to our property taxes in order to help pay the bills of 
people who are unable to do it themselves? As individuals, how much 
would you be willing to pay to live in one drafty, asbestos 
contaminated room with a shared bathroom down the hall? Would you be 
willing to pitch in enough extra to cover the shortfall from the 
Medicaid person next door?

We-the-taxpayers of Latah County have not been willing to dig into 
our pockets to adequately fund LHS's operations. Will that change if 
we-the-taxpayers vote down the proposed string-free sale to Gritman?

Suppose we sell LHS to Gritman or someone else and keep the 
revisionary clause. What are we-the-taxpayers going to do if we get 
it back?

Unfortunately, I think LHS as we know it is gone. I can't see we-the- 
taxpayers of Latah County reversing course 180-degrees and taxing 
themselves enough to meet LHS's needs. So, the question is what do we 
do?

Do we board it up and let it decay into dust?

Do we sell it to someone who hopefully has the will and resources to 
keep it alive as some sort of public health facility?

Do we sell it to a private sector developer?

Personally, I think selling to Gritman without the reversionary 
clause is a gamble. They may not be able to make it work. They might 
put a million into the property then sell it. But, I think Gritman is 
our best bet for keeping the facility as a place for health care and 
in local hands.

Kit Craine

On Jan 10, 2007, at 4:12 PM, lfalen wrote:

>
>
>> Thanks Jerry
>> I hope that the Commissioners read Murf's Editorial. If the 
>> February vote is only to remove the reversionary clause I will 
>> vote to remove it. If it is tied to Gritman I will vote against 
>> it. Again Gritman may be the best bet., but lets look at all 
>> options. If one of the organizations is Spokane is interested in 
>> it, we need to know what their proposals are.
>>
>> Roger
>> -----Original message-----
>> From: Jerry Weitz gweitz at moscow.com
>> Date: Tue, 09 Jan 2007 23:53:17 -0800
>> To: lfalen lfalen at turbonet.com, "Donovan Arnold" 
>> donovanjarnold2005 at yahoo.com, "Debbie Gray" graylex at yahoo.com, 
>> vision2020 vision2020 at moscow.com
>> Subject: Re: [Vision2020] Selling Latah Health Services
>>
>>> About two weeks ago, I contacted two nursing homes in the Spokane
>>> area. Both of which were/are care givers to family members. 
>>> Both made
>>> inquiries to the commissioners. I asked both to contact Gritman 
>>> and B J
>>> Swanson. I was the dental consultant (unpaid)for Latah Health 
>>> for years
>>> and thus would like to see skilled nursing/ long term care remain 
>>> in the
>>> area. Having to send folks out of town and maybe out of reach of 
>>> family and
>>> friends is not in the area's best interest.
>>>
>>> Both of the long term care facilities are private. The nursing home
>>> industry is highly regulated. Some, in the industry, say it is more
>>> regulated than the nuclear power industry. Thus, LHS, due to its
>>> structure and its limited ability to use its property as collateral,
>>> was at a distinct disadvantage.
>>>
>>> One of the Spokane privates delivers a substantial amount of 
>>> indigent
>>> care. This home has 84 skilled nursing beds, 120 regular beds, 
>>> and a
>>> physical therapy unit. Its facilities are on par with Good Sam. 
>>> The other
>>> has about 34 skilled nursing, a substantial assisted living capacity
>>> and very high end. Both were interested in committing to our 
>>> area under
>>> the right conditions. My impression,after one of the CEO's talked 
>>> with BJ,
>>> was that Gritman wanted to retain control and the nursing home 
>>> would be
>>> secondary players. Frankly, I do not know if this would work. 
>>> We, as a
>>> community, may want to explore our future needs recognizing 
>>> Gritman as a
>>> great asset, but not a long term care provider.
>>>
>>> I think that we are being rushed into a corner without exploring 
>>> other
>>> possibilities and agree with Murf on just voting on the reversionary
>>> clause. I certainly do not want to have Gritman lose interest, 
>>> have the
>>> facility change into a housing development, or confuse the public.
>>>
>>> Jerry (Just returned from 10 days in sunny Arizona)
>>>
>>>
>>> At 10:12 AM 1/5/07, lfalen wrote:
>>>> Donovan has some good points here. What is the hurry in putting 
>>>> it to the
>>>> voters? The only thing left is the pool and Gritman is running 
>>>> it. Why
>>>> spend $20,00 on a vote that has only the option of Gritman or 
>>>> the status
>>>> quo? Would not it have been better to publicly solicit interest 
>>>> from
>>>> prospective bidders. There are two unsolicited bidders offering 
>>>> in excess
>>>> of $200,000, both of which would keep the pool open. Why would 
>>>> it have not
>>>> been wise to see who else was interested, before a costly vote 
>>>> is taken
>>>> and might result in putting us back were we are now. Gritman may 
>>>> very well
>>>> be the best bet, but we do not know that. Apparently a group in 
>>>> Spokane
>>>> was interested in it as assisted living facility. All options 
>>>> should
>>>> be on the table before a costly vote is taken.
>>>>
>>>> Roger
>>>> -----Original message-----
>>>> From: Donovan Arnold donovanjarnold2005 at yahoo.com
>>>> Date: Fri, 05 Jan 2007 00:41:41 -0800
>>>> To: Debbie Gray graylex at yahoo.com, vision2020 
>>>> vision2020 at moscow.com
>>>> Subject: Re: [Vision2020] Selling Latah Health Services
>>>>
>>>>> Debbie,
>>>>>
>>>>> My first fear is that the building will no longer be used to 
>>>>> provide
>>>> a place of care for the indigent elderly and disabled members of 
>>>> the
>>>> Palouse community. I think that in the near future a building 
>>>> will be
>>>> needed for this purpose.
>>>>>
>>>>> My second fear is that the county will be duped, in that the 
>>>>> building
>>>> will not be used for the purposes that Gritman wishes due to 
>>>> high costs
>>>> of renovation and maintenance. I think that the building will 
>>>> simply be
>>>> used as office space leased out by Gritman. What else can they 
>>>> possibly
>>>> afford to use the building for? The renovation costs to convert 
>>>> that
>>>> building for what they want will cost more than just building a 
>>>> new building.
>>>>>
>>>>> My third major fear is that millions of dollars that the 
>>>>> taxpayers
>>>> have invested over the last 50 years into the building will be 
>>>> tossed, or
>>>> given away. We will be losing a multimillion dollar investment 
>>>> because we
>>>> don't want or cannot spend the money to maintain and repair the 
>>>> building
>>>> at this moment in time.
>>>>>
>>>>> The generation that fought in WWII and understands sacrifice,
>>>> sacrificed to have that building build so that they, their 
>>>> children and
>>>> grandchildren would have a decent place to live in the event 
>>>> that they
>>>> lose their independence.
>>>>>
>>>>> I would be willing to sell the building to Gritman provided 
>>>>> that:
>>>>>
>>>>> 1) The therapy pool was kept open and maintained for members 
>>>>> of the
>>>> community
>>>>> 2) In the event that Gritman could not start the 
>>>>> modifications as
>>>> promised within five years, the building ownership reverts back 
>>>> to Latah.
>>>>> 3) That the building be used for Non-Profit community needs 
>>>>> ONLY.
>>>>> 4) That any offers to maintain and operate the facility as an
>>>> assisted living of skilled nursing facility take precedence over 
>>>> any
>>>> other proposals for use of the space.
>>>>>
>>>>> Best,
>>>>>
>>>>> Donovan J Arnold
>>>>>
>>>>> PS, I would not be overly objective to using a portion of the
>>>> building as an alternative High School.
>>>>>
>>>>> PSS, Why does Gritman want to own the portion of property 
>>>>> where the
>>>> child care center is located?
>>>>>
>>>>> Debbie Gray wrote:
>>>>> So what are the main complaints against this proposal?
>>>>> That Gritman might change their mind and not provide
>>>>> the services they are intending? That Latah County is
>>>>> somehow going to lose out by letting this happen
>>>>> because....?
>>>>>
>>>>> Too tired to devil's advocate myself,
>>>>>
>>>>> Debbie Gray
>>>>>
>>>>> --- "B. J. Swanson" wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> Visionaries,
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Gritman Medical Center's Proposal to Purchase and
>>>>>> Letter of Intent regarding
>>>>>> Latah Health Services can be found by visiting
>>>>>> Gritman's website (the front
>>>>>> page) at www.gritman.org ,
>>>>>> and clicking on the
>>>>>> "Proposal to Purchase and Letter to Latah County
>>>>>> Regarding Latah Health
>>>>>> Services" link in the bottom right hand corner.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Gritman will continue to update the website with
>>>>>> more information and plans
>>>>>> as they become available.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Thank you.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> B. J. Swanson
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
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