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March Consensu Meeting Recap

Local Government Consolidation/ Shared Services

In March we held two consensus meetings on evaluation standards for new legislation and local government proposals on government consolidation and shared services. Mary Berry moderated the evening session at the Bethlehem Public Library
and Marion Schwager, the morning session at the Albany Public Library. Members of the Saratoga County LWV joined us at the morning meeting to observe how we were conducting our sessions. We reached consensus on all standards but one, where we registered “undecided,” and suggested some additional standards and editorial changes. Our results were forwarded to the State LWV for their consideration.
Many thanks to the committee for all their hard work and to all those who brought food to the SuperSupper. It was delicious!

Update on Albany County Long Term Care Issues

In June 2009 the League of Women Voters of Albany County co-hosted with the College of St. Rose a well-attended public forum on the future of long term care in Albany County. This forum preceded the September 2009 publication of County Executive Breslin's long term care plan which is available for review at http://www.albanycounty.com/ltc/Newsroom/2009LTC_Plan.pdf.

Since the fall, the discord between the executive and the legislative branches of government continues over the future of the existing Albany County Nursing Home. At the February 8, 2010 meeting of the county legislature, which was monitored by League president Ann Brandon and vice-president Jan messina, a resolution was passed to allow an independent contractor an award of $25,000 to determine the reasons for an ongoing operating deficit of $18 million for the nursing home.

Although the County Executive's 2010 budget plans for closing the existing facility and substituting a range of alternatives, the Legislature has subsequently authorized funding for design and consultation work on a new facitlity at the site of the former Heritage Park ball field in Colonie. Because the county legislature can authorize a bond issuance for funding a new facility without public vote, it is important for residents to have al the facts surrounding the costs and benefits of a new facility. Our League will continue to monitor monthly legislative meetings, but we cannot voice any opinions on this to either the County Executive's office or the Legislature without having member approval to adopt this issue as a local study.

If you want the League to consider this as a local issue, please contat Marian Schwager at schwager@nycap.rr.com.

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November Meeting Recap

On Saturday morning, November 14, a sizable crowd filled the auditorium of the Pine Bush Discover Center for a presentation on the Future of Waste Management in the Capital Region by Willard Bruce, Chairman of the Solid Wsate Management Partnership Planning committee and former Commissioner, City of Albany, Department of General Services.

The Department of Environmental Conservation recently approved an expansion of the soon-to-be-filled Albany landfill, quite close to the Pine Bush. Mr. Bruce made it clear that the expansion will only buy eight more years. Mr. Bruce discussed alternatives, timelines, and impediments. A videotape of teh presentation is available on www.Albanycommunitytelevision.com.

The next Solid Waste Management Partnership meeting will be held on December 10th at 4 pm, 200 Henry Johnson Voulevard, Albany. Additional information about the SWMP is available at www.capitalregionlandfill.com. All League members are encouraged to attend. If you are interested in pursuing this issue contact Julie Elson.

Voter Services Recap

Over 1000 people attended League election events, from August until late October including a many local election debates and the Albany Housing Authority tenant commissioner election.

Now we are looking for ideas for Voter Services projects and re-structuring for our activities in the county. Please email Mary Ann at Mlettau1@aol.com.

October Meeting Recap

On October 27th, John Zogby, President and CEO of Zogby International, spoke on how the 2008 election saw dramatic changes in polling across two dimensions - a changing face of the electorate toward younger and more minority representation and a changing climate for polling using interactive, internet based tools. About one hundred people were in attendance. The event was co-sponsored by the League and the College of St. Rose.

Mr. Zogby is known both nationally and internationally for the accuracy of his predictions and for his political analysis. He provides opinions to the pages of the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and the Christian Science Monitor, to name a few. He polls extensively throught the world, at last count in 62 countries.

2008-2009 Study of the Greening of Albany County

The major local project this past year was a study on the Greening of Albany County co-chaired by Judy Wing and Judi Campbell.

We used a combination of web site reviews, phone calls, and personal interviews; perseverance was a major enabler to our results.

The study team had responses from the following entities:

Albany City
Albany County
Bethlehem
Cohoes
Colonie
Guilderland
Menands
New Scotland
SUNY Albany
Watervliet

There are a number of success stories in the areas of saving energy, improving vehicle efficiency, the use of NYSERDA, NYSDEC and other grants, cooperative agreements with other communities, et. al. A summary report is in process and will be available on the web site.

The committee became interested in the issues surrounding the Rapp Road landfill and the Capital Region Solid Waste Management Partnership (SWMP).  The Four League Position on Solid Waste, originally formulated in 1991 has been reconfirmed by all the chapters. We plan continuing involvement with SWMP in the coming year.

The committee also was involved in the September 2008 program on Public Transportation in the Capital Region, and the February Souper Supper that featured Janet Joseph of NYSERDA as our speaker.

Aimee Allaud, Edith Allen, Ann Brandon, Julie Elson, Thayer Heath, Katie Henrikson, Marsha Kayser, Julia Lee, Marion Schwager, Loretta Simon, and Marggie Skinner helped define the scope, develop the questionnaire and collect the information.

For further information....

the February 09 bulletin has articles on Coal and the landfill;

the March 09 bulletin has further information on the landfill and the Solid Waste Management partnership;

the May 09 bulletin includes an article taken from the LWVUS on Global Greenshouse Gas Emissions.There are several articles about the environment, public transportation, and energy iss

LEAGUE SPONSORS PACKED HOUSE ON ALBANY COUNTY LONG TERM CARE ISSUES

On Wednesday evening, June 10, a capacity crowd packed the College of St. Rose’s St. Joseph Hall Auditorium to attend the LWVAC’s community forum titled “The Future of Long Term Care in Albany County. “ Our League’s interest in this topic proved fortuitously  timely because two days before on June 8 in a heated discussion of the Albany County Legislature, a resolution was passed directing  County Executive Michael G. Breslin  to develop plans for a new direction for long term care for the elderly in Albany County. The subsequent press coverage of this controversial event spilled over into reference to our forum, which likely contributed to the very substantial community turnout. In addition to League members, community activists and AARP “red shirts”, 10 county legislators also attended. Also in the audience were county and state officials in both long term care, management and finance and aging departments.

After League President Ann Brandon welcomed the audience, Colllege of Saint Rose President R. Mark Sullivan explained that his interest in hosting the event extended beyond a commitment to integrate the college within its community toward work its Institute for Community Research and Training is doing to evaluate the Neighborhood Naturally Occurring Retirement Community (NNORC) in the New Scotland Ave/Whitehall Road corridor. Dr. Sullivan praised the League’s efforts to open public discourse on how, as we age, we can continue to be both supported by and involved in our home communities.

This was followed by remarks from County Executive Breslin who transitioned from Dr. Sullivan’s comments to his childhood recollections of the College of Saint Rose as, in fact, his own hometown and that the concept of allowing people the option of “aging in place” was behind the formation of the NNORC and integral to the county’s commitment to a comprehensive range of long term care services.  His expectation, he further explained, was to listen and take notes on all of the perspectives and recommendations put forth during the course of the evening, and , true to his word, he stayed for the full 90 minutes .

The panel was both moderated and “kicked off” by Courtney Burke, a former LWVAC president and current director of the Health Policy Research Center at the Rockefeller Institute of Government.  Ms. Burke’s presentation contained an overview of terms associated with long term care services, a comparison of current national and state trends towards shifting services and costs toward more home and community based care and preliminary estimates of the full range of long term care costs in Albany County.  This included the current $20 million county subsidy to cover losses due to operating costs that exceed level of reimbursement for the county run nursing home.  This presentation generated significant discussion including questions concerning some of the fiscal information .  A copy of Ms. Burke’s presentation will be posted on our website when amended data is provided to us by Albany County.

After this overview the panelists each gave brief remarks representing their differing perspectives on what the county should consider when developing its plan.  The June 8 Resolution No 205 was made available to the audience , however, its major recommendation is for a plan to be developed by mid-September.  This plan is to describe the county’s intention to “overhaul the entire spectrum of long term care . . . . including replacement of the nursing home.” The League’s planning for the community forum had emphasized the need to present a balanced public response to both the controversy surrounding the existing nursing home run by the county and the trends , interests and innovations also being promoted by interested stakeholders.

The first panelist, Richard Iannello, had the perspective of a manager with many years experience in the nursing home industry who is currently serving as the Executive of the Albany Guardian Society. Mr.  Iannello stated that home and community services are the preference for most people and that 75-80 per cent of all long term care giving is done through the informal system rather than institutions such as nursing homes.  His recommendation was to strengthen supports available to informal caregivers ( spouses, children, friends) rather than plan for increased nursing home bed needs.  He stated that the average length of nursing home stay is down from 1,1000 days in the 1970’s to the low 800’s today and that this drop dramatically impacts traditional occupancy forecasts and revenue estimates.  The outcome is that new construction costs will inevitably be underestimated and the attendant shortfalls will preclude the other kinds of long term care options people may desire.

Mr. Carmen Mazzotta, President of Health Capital Partners, followed these remarks with an impassioned plea for Albany county to plan for a transfer of long term care responsibility out of government and into the private sector. Mr. Mazzotta had prepared remarks and these are attached.

While Mr. Mazzotta’s presentation emphasized cost and governance issues, the next presenter Sim Goldman, Senior Attorney with Disability Advocates, Inc shifted the focus toward the perspective of those with disability. He informed the group that discrimination for people with disabilities extends to their care in any setting, including long term care.  Although there has been a 50 year decline in specialized settings for people with disabilities they age along with the general population and have the same needs for long term care.  He emphasized that the landmark 1999 Supreme Court’s Olmstead decision  on equal rights for community inclusion  can  apply to people who are at risk of institutionalization regardless of age or disability. His recommendation was that Albany county establish a rapid response team of social workers and nurses so that when a health care crisis occurs, appropriate home care can be arranged.  He also urged that the county enact legislation for universal residential home design so that in the future basic accessibility requirements can be met before people age. He concluded by stating that the legal requirements for community inclusion as well as advances in clinical insight make spending decisions based on older models of long term care problematic.

Lois Wilson, a panel member representing both family caregivers and the Senior Issues Forum, expressed her belief that it is also necessary for the Albany county plan to address issues of prevention and end of life decision making.  She challenged the audience to think about how falls can be prevented, how clutter contributes to the high falling risks that often precipitate nursing home admissions and how all resources within Albany county can be better used to improve care. The final presenter was also representing the views of family caregivers.  June Manascalco, of the Albany County Nursing Home’s Family Council expressed deep concern that the challenges facing the country would culminate in a decision to either not repair the existing nursing home or build a new replacement but rather to close it entirely and place the existing residents in jeopardy.  While commending the efforts of the existing nursing home staff she also pointed out that many of the currents residents present challenges beyond the norm due to behavioral and/or physical conditions.  She feared that the “safety net” for those who are hard to serve would be removed.

At the program’s conclusion, several questions were raised and answered by panelists.  There was interest in the “greenhouse” model of nursing home currently in operation in Cohoes and also interest expressed in future options for public comment on the proposed plan.  It is likely that LWVAC will be able to revisit this topic  in the fall when the county plan is expected to be completed.  In the interim, LWVAC will continue to work with Albany county government on getting a picture of the costs and issues surrounding the operations of the county-run nursing home and will supplement this newsletter article with additional updates on our website and in subsequent issues.