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PRAIRIE GREEN PARTY CALLS FOR PUBLIC MANAGEMENT OF NURSING HOME
CONTACT:
Walter Pituc
Champaign County Board District 7
217.819.1591
votewalter@gmail.com
Kostas Yfantis
Champaign County Board District 7
217.840.6780
kostasyfantis@gmail.com
Joe Futrelle
Champaign County Board District 8
217.390.2971
futrelle@prairiegreens.org
Mike Lehman
Champaign County Board District 9
217.344.5609
lehmanforagreencounty@earthlink.net
URBANA, IL - The Prairie Green Party of East Central Illinois called for responsible, public management of the nursing home as the Champaign County Board prepared to vote on a proposal to contract out nursing home management with Management Performance Associates, a private management consulting firm.
"The Champaign County Nursing Home must be adequately funded in order to fulfill the public's commitment to care for our senior citizens," said Mike Lehman, the Green Party candidate for Champaign County Board, District 9. "We don't need a management consultant to tell us we need to fill beds and dramatically reduce attrition among full-time nurses," he said. "Making needed improvements to nursing home management will not address the problem that the home was underfunded by the 2002 referendum that set the tax rate at only 3 cents of a possible 10 cents." Lehman supports continued public management of the nursing home and a tax referendum to raise revenue to "break even" levels.
Greens also called for transparency. "The Nursing Home Board justified awarding a no-bid contract to MPA by saying time had run out," said Joe Futrelle, the Green Party candidate for Champaign County Board in District 8, "but the board has had plenty of time to provide proper oversight of this vital public service." Futrelle said he thinks the MPA contract is a step towards privatizing the nursing home, a move he strongly opposes.
Walter Pituc, one of two Green Party candidates for Champaign County Board, District 7, along with Kostas Yfantis, said he supported public management of the nursing home because it continues to provide high-quality care to people who need it the most. "For many people the home represents the kind of place they'd hope to be if they needed long-term care," said Pituc, "and effective, hands-on public oversight is the best way to ensure that it stays that way."
MORE INFORMATION:
Prairie Greens of East Central Illinois
http://www.prairiegreens.org
Illinois Green Party
http://www.ilgp.org
