MONTICELLO – A recent outbreak of COVID-19 and continued staffing issues at the Care Center at Sunset Lake in Liberty were discussed before an overview of the facility for 2022 was given by Infinite Care Regional Director of Operations Katie Perez before the Sullivan County Legislature last week.

Perez said that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Star Rating for the care center dropped to a two star rating in April, but has been rising steadily since, currently sitting just below a four star rating.

Perez noted that over the course of the year, the care center hired 134 staff members and retained 94 across all departments, with 23 of those hires being in November alone. A number of these hires are Temporary Nurse Aide (TNA) roles. Perez confirmed there are a total of 19 Registered Nurses (RN) on staff.

The Care Center has attempted to alleviate some of the staffing issues by partnering with organizations to assist in staff training and recruitment, including contracting with BOCES to ensure medical students are able to complete their clinicals at the facility.

However, the Care Center was also made aware of eight to nine areas showing an improvement rate below 75 percent. Perez said that the facility did not have the proper systems to improve these issues at the time. 

“The systems that were never in place - they were jumping all over instead of focusing [on one.] For instance, they were still using side rails, which we don’t use because it could hurt somebody. They were still doing a lot of things that we did back in the past,” Perez said.

District 2 Legislator Nadia Rajsz stated that the number of RN’s currently employed and the staffing levels per every shift are immediate concerns, and was joined by District 8 Legislator Ira Steingart on questioning if the Care Center would possibly accept new residents without having enough staff to meet all of the needs of current residents as it is.

“We are not going to put ourselves in jeopardy to take care of a resident that we feel we could not take care of,” Perez said, adding that they are constantly looking for new employees.

Perez noted that a number of workers were brought on staff for the 11 residents in the subacute unit alone, so as to not impact any of the long-term care units.

District 7 Legislator Joe Perrello inquired on the reports that there were instances in which only two-to-three RNs were available per unit, which may encompass upwards of thirty residents. 

“When people are working on systems and know how to take care of residents in a systematic way… there are ways to do things. When they look on the unit and see two people or three people on a unit, there are other people there that could help feed, there could be an RN in the building that’s a supervisor,” Perez said. “I am not going to say every day is perfect, but we have increased our staffing levels in the facility by a lot more than when we first came.”

Perez noted that Sunset Lake is not the only nursing home under Infinite Care that is experiencing such staffing issues. 

Covid Outbreak

After a recent outbreak of the virus, the Care Center at Sunset Lake put out a statement to the families and loved ones on February 18, saying that the facility “remains committed to protecting residents and staff from COVID-19.”

“We have made it a priority to keep our residents, families and staff informed of our efforts to ensure the safety and health of everyone living and working at The Care Center during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Megan Holton, LNHA, Administrator and Cynthia Hathaway, Director of Nursing in a letter dated February 18. 

The letter stated that the Care Center had zero staff members test positive since the latest diagnosis on the 18th, however an additional six residents at the facility had tested positive for COVID-19.

Resolutions passed

The Sullivan County Legislature passed a number of resolutions last Thursday, including two that openly stated Sullivan County’s opposition to the proposed NYS Soil & Water Conservation District Law Changes, as well as an opposition to NY Governor Kathy Hochul’s Gas Stove Ban.

Arnott remembered

On behalf of the Sullivan County Legislature, a Memoriam Proclamation was read aloud by the county’s Director of Communications Dan Hust for the late James Arnott Jr., former Superintendent of the Sullivan County International Airport who passed away on January 27.

It noted that Arnott was an accomplished pilot, author, businessman, and proud resident of Sullivan County and his hometown of Wurtsboro.

“The Sullivan County Legislature proclaims its gratitude to the late James Arnott for sharing, promoting, and enchanting the county’s vision to realize the maximum potential of the airport and for his tireless efforts to make it a value and pride to county taxpayers,” Hust said.

Hust also expressed the legislature’s grief in the loss of Arnott and extended great sympathies to Arnott’s surviving family members, friends, and loved ones. The Memoriam Proclamation was accepted before the legislature by Arnott’s wife, Melissa Beakes Arnott, on behalf of herself and her family.