SPRINGETTSBURY TOWNSHIP, YORK COUNTY, Pa. — The future owners of York County’s Pleasant Acres nursing home visited the Springettsbury Township facility Thursday, to announce its plans for the center.
Wednesday, York County commissioners approved the sale to Premier HealthCare Management in July
Many have expressed concerns about what the sale means for their jobs or their loved ones
York County’s nursing home will soon be owned by Philadelphia and New York-based Premier HealthCare Management, but it’s new owner promised not much will change.
Premier HealthCare Management CEO Lisa Sofia said “we are not going to take anything away that would erase the past of Pleasant Acres. We will keep the name of Pleasant Acres.
York County commissioners said Pleasant Acres was losing millions of dollars, but officials with Premier HealthCare management believe it will be able to turn the facility’s finances around without getting rid of patients or staff, and without increasing the cost of care.
“We’re going to focus on other lines of revenue that we can bring here to pleasant acres and one of that is going to be going out and working with our partners,” Sofia said.
Officials involved in the sale said Premier also has the added benefit of being able to get a larger medical reimbursement from the state and federal government.
Pleasant Acres CFO Tammy Hetrick said “ companies get paid on a different pay scale, there’s two different scales, so that’s why they’re able to bring in more, they’re also able to negotiate contracts over a large number of facilities.”
York County commissioner Susan Byrnes said “the quality of care here is not going to deteriorate, it will stay the same, and in fact, it might even be enhanced because they can bring better resources. They might find that our staffing needs actually need to be increased.”
York County commissioner Doug Hoke said “everybody that was against the sale of this nursing home, whether it’s the employees, or family members, or residents, we have to get behind this. This is a positive thing now, so I want everybody to join together and make this transition work.”
The county will receive about $31 million from the sale. Commissioners said it has not been determined where that money will go, however, the county will owe approximately $22 million in retirement benefits debt to pay.
Premier HealthCare Management pledges to make a $4 million investment in Pleasant Acres over the next three to five years.