County readies for Valley View 2.0

GOSHEN — Orange County legislators on Tuesday confirmed Lawrence LaDue as the newly appointed administrator of the county-run nursing home, Valley View.

Lawmakers of the Health and Mental Health Committee voted 7-0 in favor of LaDue.

LaDue served briefly as an assistant administrator at Valley View and later became the administrator at a smaller nursing home, Putnam Ridge in Brewster, he said.

“My focus is on the day-to-day operations and the resident care,” LaDue said. “I have been trying to communicate that with employees. We can control what’s in the building. We can’t control everything else.”

Despite the favorable vote for LaDue, several lawmakers stressed that the new administrator will have to work quickly to maintain high levels of care while controlling costs at the home.

"I am very impressed with your resume and I am very impressed with you," Legislator Myrna Kemnitz said. "Having said that, the job of this committee is oversight. I want you to know that."

Legislators Michael Anagnostakis and Roxanne Donnery questioned LaDue about how he will lift the shaken morale of residents and staff upset by plans to sell the facility to a private company.

The floundering facility has seen declining occupancy and increasing costs as the efforts to sell the home have worn on. So far, Diana has only funded the home through January.

“I don’t think you are going to see occupancy increase beyond its current number until a decision is made on the facility,” LaDue said, responding to a question from Legislator Pat Berardinelli.

Donnery and Anagnostakis have criticized the one-month appropriation granted to Valley View in the contested budget signed by Diana.

The executive said he plans to attend the next meeting of the Ways and Means Committee to extend funding for the home through March.

In 2012, the operating budget for the nursing home was roughly $34 million, with county taxpayers paying roughly half the cost, according to preliminary figures quoted by Finance Director Donna Strecker.

That number was down from a total cost of $38 million in 2011, Anagnostakis said.

Both Donnery and Anagnostakis served on a special investigative committee into Valley View’s operation, which identified waste and mismanagement at the home and recommended solutions.

LaDue said that he was very familiar with the home’s situation, but had not read the investigative report.

One of the recommendations of the report was to limit the amount of overtime paid to employees. The number of overtime hours is currently trending down, Strecker said.

LaDue said that he hopes to deliver his plans for the new facility sometime in March.

Editor's note: The original story incorrectly inferred that Legislator Tom Pahucki is a member of the Health and Mental Health Committee. He is not a member. We regret the error.