EDITORIAL: Sale of Foley home would be best

The latest strategy for getting Suffolk County out of the nursing home business, the creation of a public benefit corporation, raises more questions than it answers. Question one: Does it really benefit the public? Question two: Does it help the 2011 budget? Answers: Probably not, and no.

Lawmakers are reluctant to sell the John J. Foley Skilled Nursing Facility in Yaphank to a private operator, out of concern for its 249 patients and 270-plus employees. For County Executive Steve Levy, the sale is vital to closing a budget gap.

Levy thinks the sale will net the county $20 million. The legislature's budget review staff says it's $15.6 million and that current annual losses are less than Levy claims. This much is clear: The sale is already teed up and could bring in revenue during 2011. But the creation of a not-for-profit corporation to run the nursing home - plus county health, mental health and methadone centers - is not guaranteed to win approval in Albany. It's highly unlikely to deliver funds next year.

A new corporation would add a level of complexity, but wouldn't make sense unless the nursing home is affiliated with a hospital, to maximize efficiency and reimbursement. But one match legislators want, Stony Brook University Medical Center, can't prudently assume the fiscal risk of Foley.

So a new corporation, with all the debt it will have to float to acquire Foley, is not a realistic solution. A carefully vetted sale to a private operator still seems the best option. hN