Hospital board: close nursing unit

ALEXANDRIA BAY — The River Hospital's Board of Trustees Wednesday voted to close its 27-bed nursing facility. If the move is approved by the state, it will result in the loss of nearly 40 jobs.

The decision prompted the resignation of Nellie M. Taylor, former chairwoman and board member.

"I have worked night and day to save it, " said Mrs. Taylor, who played an essential role in opening River Hospital and raising funds to maintain and improve the medical facility.

Ben Moore III, the hospital's chief executive officer, said the hospital staff will work with families and patients of the nursing unit to find an alternative facility that would best accommodate their needs before closing the facility.

Mrs. Taylor said the hospital board has discussed terminating its skilled nursing program for months and recently submitted a proposal to the state Department of Health after voting to close the facility. Mr. Moore said the process could take months, and depending on the DOH's decision, the hospital may not be able to terminate the program.

"The board decided that this is the answer," said Mrs. Taylor, who led the Concerned Citizens for E.J. Noble group, which worked to revive the former E.J. Noble Hospital-Samaritan and served as chairwoman for five years after it became the River Hospital in 2003.

Mr. Moore and Mrs. Taylor both said patients, hospital staff and the community were not informed of the board's discussions because hospital board members are not allowed to discuss the matter in public under state regulations due to DOH's involvement.

"This is an awful situation. But if we want to preserve this institution we have to consider closing it," Mr. Moore said.

For six months, the hospital board has been exploring "every possible option to avoid" the closure of the nursing program while keeping the small, financially struggling hospital afloat, he said.

The hospital has been losing more than $300,000 annually to maintain the skilled nursing program. To keep the program running over the next few years, the hospital would have to raise millions of dollars through fundraisers, Mr. Moore said.

He said the board determined that asking the community for that much money was not feasible, especially during such harsh economic times.

"No one wants to do this," he said. "But it could pull the whole institution down."

Mrs. Taylor said the skilled nursing facility is a valuable asset to the river community and the hospital board has a responsibility to maintain the program.

"It is expensive. But we have to do everything in our power to save these services," she said. "There's still time to go to the community and ask for help."