Committee cautioned not to contact nursing-home staff after ownership change; audit materials in progress

A member of the Administration Legal Affairs Committee told colleagues on Sept. 10 that nursing-home employees are no longer county employees following a transition and asked that board members not contact those workers without permission from the new operator, Greenport Nursing LLC. "They are no longer our employees. So I am just respectfully asking everybody to not contact them," the committee member said.

The committee heard multiple updates on the nursing-center transition. Staff described an employee turnover that took effect Sept. 1 and noted heavy staff time spent on benefit and payroll wrap-up; county staff thanked employees who assisted with the transition. Committee staff reported receiving increased FOIA requests recently, some coming from the health department; audit work is ongoing and county staff said Serenity Estates has agreed to help supply missing information needed to complete the audit.

Committee members were reminded that, if they want to speak with current facility employees, they must first obtain permission from Greenport Nursing LLC because the workers are employed by the new operator. The committee discussion also noted continued outreach from vendors and attorneys related to the facility transition and that some records and IT configurations remain in flux as the county and the nursing center coordinate a handover.

Ending: County staff said they will continue to work with the new operator and vendors to complete audit requests and to provide the committee updates as material becomes available.