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Locals voice concern over potential closure of Barone Alzheimer's Care Center
The City Convalescent Home Board (Long-Term Care Board) recently has been in discussions to potentially close Barone Alzheimer's Care Center (2101 N. Ash St.). One potential possibility that the board had been moving towards is to move the Barone residents to Moore-Few Care Center.
With many individuals receiving calls on Monday about the potential closing and moving of their family members to a different facility, a public forum was held Tuesday evening at the Franklin P. Norman City/County Community Center to address the concerns of the community at large.
With the room becoming full of those wanting to voice their concerns, it soon was standing room only. The agenda for the meeting stated, "Public comments will be limited to 3 minutes per speaker," for the first 30 minutes of the meeting. With so many wanting to share their input, this was changed to allow all those who wanted to speak to do so.
At the top of the meeting, Board President Judy Campbell noted there was a quorum present with board members Dave Kilmer, Wes Knell, Mary Ann Wilson, and herself in attendance. She then addressed the crowd with a prepared statement.
"The purpose of this meeting is to allow families and staff of Barone Care Center to express their thoughts and feelings before the Long-Term Care Board takes a vote on the closure of the building," started Campbell. "Barone Care Center will likely be closed and current residents will be transferred to an appropriate facility due to significant current and ongoing environmental and financial issues. Which, due to a lack of adequate resources, cannot be repaired sufficiently to provide a safe environment for staff and residents. We will do our best to maintain current employees in the same capacity, or a similar capacity. We would like for the Barone Care Center nursing staff to transfer with the residents that are being admitted to the Moore-Few Care Center to maintain the continuity of care. The Barone Care Center staff have done an outstanding job of giving compassionate and personal care to residents and their families in our community. We appreciate the outpouring of love and support from the community."
After the statement was read, the floor was opened up for those who wanted to make comments. With many current Barone Care Center employees speaking on behalf of the facility, as well as reading letters from residents' families, many point were made about the care that is give at Barone Care Center. Many giving comment spoke about the unique care that is given for dementia and Alzheimer's patients that isn't available at other local facilities. This included the building's circular shape, which allows the residents to safely wander, as well as a full range of services to manage all stages of Alzheimer's disease.
With each additional speaker of the evening, it became apparent that Barone Care Center is a valued part of the community. Many spoke through tears and pleas for the board to find another way or alternative.
When asked how much the building repairs would cost, the board could not give a definite answer and stated they received the information about repairs from maintenance workers. To this, On My Own, Inc. Executive Director Jennifer Gundy proposed the board consider utilizing an engineering firm to get an accurate scope of what would need to be repaired on the facility and what the cost would be.
With many in attendance vocalizing their agreement with Gundy, the board ultimately motioned, seconded, and approved to move forward with having an engineering firm assess the repair necessary before the board makes a final decision on whether the facility will close.
At the close of the meeting, Campbell noted that the board would be meeting again at 5 p.m., Wednesday, Nov. 17, in the Mezzanine Conference room at Nevada Regional Medical Center. This meeting, too, will be open to the public.