Consultant Updates Orange County Legislators on Valley View Nursing Home Master Plan

Valley View’s occupancy remains at a little more than 60 percent, lagging behind other county nursing homes, which have rebounded to 80 percent post-pandemic.

Valley View Center for Nursing Care and Rehabilitation in Goshen, N.Y., on Nov. 18, 2022. Cara Ding/The Epoch Times

Orange County, N.Y.—A consultant with Health Dimensions Group on March 18 updated Orange County lawmakers about key elements in a forthcoming master development plan for the Goshen-based Valley View nursing home.

The county-run, 360-bed nursing home has struggled to recover its occupancy following the pandemic lows. While nine or so other nursing homes in the county have since achieved an average occupancy rate of 80 percent, Valley View has hovered at a little more than 60 percent.

“Valley View appears to have borne about half of the countywide census drop,” consultant Brian Ellsworth told lawmakers at a joint meeting of Health and Valley View Advisory committees, adding that the nursing home currently has three closed units.

The Epoch Times previously reported that the county set aside $20 million from its surplus fund last year to cover potential operating losses at the nursing home over the next few years.

“The master plan is to look at the developable land on the Valley View campus, as well as repurposing [existing] space at Valley View to meet the needs of the community and help sustain the long-run viability of Valley View,” Ellsworth said at the meeting.

The campus currently has 100-plus acres of vacant space available for development.

A market analysis conducted by the firm indicated that the number of seniors older than 75 in Orange County will grow by 20 percent in five years, increasing demand for providers in independent living, assisted living, and memory care assisted living.

Moreover, almost all senior housing units in the county are currently occupied with long waiting lists. However, Ellsworth cautioned that such affordable housing developments usually require government subsidies and can be challenging to operate profitably.

The firm also evaluated the current conditions of Valley View facilities and identified 600 maintenance or repair jobs with a total price tag of roughly $50 million.

“You just need to do these things to kind of bring things back up to basic use,” Ellsworth said, adding that two other operating challenges faced by the nursing home are staffing shortages and a limited number of accepted Medicare Advantage plans.

The nursing home currently has a one-star rating for overall quality within the Five-Star Quality Rating System by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Ellsworth closed by saying that Valley View is dearly valued by county residents and has a good reputation in the community and that the master plan will be designed with the goal of enhancing the campus on multiple fronts while contributing to its long-term financial viability.

The final master plan is expected to be ready in the summer.

The Valley View Advisory Committee was created in 2019 with the task of developing the vacant land at the campus to financially sustain the nursing home in the long run.