Floyd Fiscal Court voices support for prison nursing home venture
COULD BRING HUNDREDS OF JOBS TO REGION
PRESTONSBURG — The Floyd County Fiscal Court voiced unanimous support Wednesday for a project that could bring hundreds of jobs to the county this week.
During a special meeting, the fiscal court approved providing a letter of support to a company that is interested in building a skilled nursing facility for ill inmates. If it is built, the project would be the second of its kind in the country.
Two people who are working with a Georgia physician, Dr. Carlos Musso, on a similar facility in that state, Governmental Relations Consultant Kim L. Nelson, and John Robertson, a partner working at the Louisville-based architectural firm, Arrasmith, Judd, Rapp and Chovan, Inc., presented their proposal to the fiscal court.
Nelson said the project started with inquiries from Rep. Greg Stumbo and Sen. Johnny Ray Turner, who were working to find ways to reopen the Otter Creek Correctional Facility which closed years ago in Wheelwright. Officials toured that facility and, after learning that it did not meet the criteria required to establish a nursing facility for inmates because it has two stories, they worked with Floyd Judge-Executive Ben Hale to find other areas of the county on which the project could be built. Nelson reported they toured a site owned by the city at StoneCrest and property owned by the Floyd County Fiscal Court on U.S. 23, a vacant area of about nine acres near Drains Unlimited and the Kings Daughters Prestonsburg Clinic.
Nelson and Robertson said the county site seems to be more favorable for the skilled nursing unit because of its access to U.S. 23, and its proximity to Highlands Health Hospital, located about three miles away. The site also lends room for future expansion, they reported.
Nelson explained that the project would be modeled after the one in Georgia, which is under construction. Prisoners with serious medical issues will be placed as parolees in the facility, where skilled nursing staff will care for them. The medical bills will be paid through Medicaid and Medicare.
Nelson explained that the prisoners must meet qualifications outlined by Social Security to qualify to be placed in a skilled nursing home. They are bed-ridden, he said.
“For the most part, these individuals are at the end of their life and they have nowhere to go,” he said.
Robertson presented design documents for the proposed facility, which he said would be between 50,000 and 55,000 square feet and house up to 160 ill parolees.
The construction will cost between $7 and $8 million, he reported, and its annual payroll will be around $5 million. The facility will create a “wide spectrum” of 200 jobs, he said, noting that number is conservative and does not include any construction workers who will build the facility. The jobs will include physicians, nurses, nurse assistants, administrative jobs, maintenance and grounds keeping staff, as well as kitchen staff and other employees. He also noted after the meeting that the facility could increase jobs in other areas of the community, as restaurants and stores open and/or expand to serve employees working there.
Legislators approved measures during the last General Assembly to allow ill inmates to be paroled into skilled nursing facilities. The group planning the Floyd County project still needs a Certificate of Need from the state before they can move forward, and the letter of support from the fiscal court, local hospitals, colleges and other businesses will help them obtain it.
Robertson said his firm will start the design process as the CON process is underway so construction can start soon after the CON is issued.
“It’s conceivable, if everything goes smoothly, this project could be launched and construction could start in the first quarter of next year,” he said.
Fiscal court members were quick in approving the letter of support, with magistrates John Goble and Ronnie Akers making the motion to do so and all voting in favor.
“We’ll turn it around quick, I assure you,” County Attorney Keith Bartley told the men after the motion was approved.
Sheriff John Hunt said from the audience, “Build, baby, build.”
“Check’s in the mail,” Magistrate Randy Davis said.
There have been no negotiations as to whether the county’s property would be donated or sold for the project. Hale emphasized that the project is in the preliminary stages, as approval is required from the state and other matters will need to be addressed before it moves forward. He is hopeful, however, having previously praised the project as one that could help diversify the region’s economy.
By Mary Meadows
Floyd County Chronicle
