Visiting Nurses Set to Serve Putnam

Putnamites in need of home health care services will be served later this year by professionals from the Visiting Nurse Services (VNS) in Westchester— a 108-year-old not-for-profit organization.

By a vote of 8 to 1, the Putnam Legislature meeting in special session last week approved the sale of the county’s Certified Home Health Agency (CHHA) license to the Westchester -based group for $250,000.

Carol Weber, a 30-year Putnam resident who serves as President and CEO of the Visiting Nurses, said home care operating certificates for Medicare-certified agencies were a “hot commodity in the private arena where large national chains seek to enter new markets and pay a great deal of money to obtain an operating certificate of a certified agency. As a not-for-profit this is what we are not about. VNS has no intention of entering a new geographic area, making a lot of money, folding our tents, and walking away.”

Legislator Tony Fusco of Mahopac Falls cast the dissenting vote, charging that his colleagues should have sought a higher price for the CHHA, but others disagreed, calling Fusco an “obstructionist and alarmist” for allegedly releasing inflammatory information via a blast e-mail prior to the vote, in which he alleged that other organizations would have paid as much as $1 million for the CHHA. When questioned during the meeting, however, Fusco could not come up with the names of any suitable non-for-profits who were willing to take over the license.

Legislator Tony Hay of Southeast admitted being at “wits’ end with the constant insistence of a single legislator who has the expertise in every subject matter that comes before our body.”

Legislator Dan Birmingham of Brewster told Fusco the county was selling its certificate that “New York State gave us for free. They gave it to us because they anticipated our health department would do good things with it and they did. We aren’t supposed to make a large profit from the CHHA.”

Legislature Chairman Vincent Tamagna of Nelsonville also criticized Fusco, telling him: “According to a University of Wisconsin study, the quality of home health care Putnam residents receive every day is number one in the nation. We must never sell our soul to a national corporation for a one time windfall because service will suffer. The Westchester group will raise the bar.”

Legislator Sam Oliverio of Putnam Valley called the Visiting Nurse Services “ideal. This will be a great transition since our residents will benefit greatly.”

Deputy Commissioner of Health Loretta Molinari called the Visiting Nurse Services in Westchester a “sincere and dedicated group of people. In their hearts they care about patient care which has been the philosophy of our department for many years. The mesh between the two agencies will hardly be felt by our patients because the new agency is totally dedicated to the homecare mission.”