Violence out of control at state youth center Saratoga County’s public nursing home sold to private operator BALLSTON SPA — Saratoga County’s local development corporation (LDC) board has approved the sale of the county nursing home, Maplewood Manor, to the private-sector Zenith Care Health Group for $14.1 million. Zenith currently operates Livingston Hills, a nursing home in Hudson. CSEA, which represents more than 300 Maplewood employees, fought hard to keep the nursing home publicly owned, including filing a lawsuit against Saratoga County earlier this year for acting unlawfully in the county’s transfer ownership of the home to the county’s LDC with little public notice or input. A judge later dismissed the suit. “Saratoga County’s actions are, at best, questionable,” CSEA President Danny Donohue said earlier this year. “Unfortunately, in county after county we have seen elected officials walk away from responsibility to our seniors.” The transfer of the home’s ownership to the private operator is expected to take six to 18 months. The county will continue to operate the home until the process is complete. “CSEA still has major concerns about the LDC process, but our primary concern is the dedicated employees and the residents they care for who are unsure what the transition will mean for them,” Capital Region President Kathy Garrison said. “There’s a lot of anxiety.” — Therese Assalian CLAVERACK — Bruised, bloodied and beaten. Just another day at Brookwood Secure Center. Violence at Brookwood “secure” is out of control. Staff are being brutally attacked. In the most recent incident, a youth division aide had his eye socket busted. Youths are brutalizing each other and gang violence is on the rise. Center workers note there are so many staff out on disability that extreme overtime is mandated and staff are concerned for their safety inside the facility. For years, CSEA has been calling attention to the dangerous conditions at state Office of Children and Family Services-run youth facilities across New York. The agency’s response? A “therapeutic” model where youths are coddled and allowed to have parties and even a wedding. Recently, a large order of Xbox video equipment was delivered to the facility. This, at the same time the Christmas trees and other holiday decoration were going up. Yet, OCFS continues to ignore the violence and the impact of the environment on employees and residents. At press time, CSEA was planning to hold a rally at OCFS Commissioner Gladys Carrion’s Rensselaer office. The union is also attempting to learn more information through labor relations channels and is alerting elected officials to the violence. “Carrion has failed to provide anything resembling a safe workplace,” said CSEA Capital Region President Kathy Garrison. “State officials literally have blood on their hands. Through their inaction, they are responsible for the bloodshed.” — Therese Assalian CSEA slams county over adult home sale HERKIMER — CSEA is angry after the Herkimer County Legislature passed a resolution blaming the union’s lawsuit against outsourcing their adult home for increasing costs to taxpayers, and is lashing back at the county leadership. “The reason the adult home is costing taxpayers money has nothing to do with our union’s lawsuit. It has everything to do with poor management by the county administration and Legislature, which has bankrupted a service they have provided for decades to their seniors,” said CSEA Central Region President Colleen Wheaton. As The Work Force went to press, the legislature added pressure to force the facility’s sale, threatening closure if an agreement wasn’t reached between CSEA and the new operator before year’s end. “It’s disgusting that the legislature threatened to close the facility if they don’t get their way with outsourcing it. They should be ashamed of themselves for playing politics with the lives of the home’s residents,” Wheaton said. Despite believing the home should remain public, Wheaton said CSEA has been talking with the private company the county selected to operate the home. “We’re talking with the potential new operator, because we believe it would be far more devastating to the residents of Country Manor and the workers we represent if we allow the Herkimer County Legislature to shut down the facility. We are determined to fight for the health care of our seniors,” she said. CSEA hopes to reach an agreement that preserves the quality and continuity of care for the home’s residents by keeping the home’s current workers caring for the residents they’ve developed familylike bonds with. “We’re not giving up on the relationship of our caregivers and the residents they serve,” Wheaton said. “It’s a shame that the Herkimer County Legislature has.” — Mark M. Kotzin CSEA Capital Region President Kathy Garrison leads a demonstration in 2013 against the sale of Saratoga County’s Maplewood Manor nursing home before a public hearing. CSEA had strong public support for keeping the home public. January 2014 The Work Force 13
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