Future under review

Givens, Miller pursue options on facility

By GINA KINSLOW

GLASGOW — State legislators want to see the Glasgow State Nursing Facility remain open in Glasgow, because its closure would mean a loss of more than 100 jobs.

To keep it open, state legislators must find a way to fund the construction of a new building to house the facility.

“I think we are going to be looking more at a bonding mechanism to get this done,” said Sen. David Givens, R-Greensburg.

Givens met with Secretary Janie Miller with the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services on Wednesday and said it was a good meeting that consisted of a broad range of conversation regarding the different possibilities for replacing the hospital.

“The variable can certainly be a public operation, which means the government is involved in both phases. We could have a privately built building that is publicly operated. We could have a privately built facility that is privately operated, or we could have a publicly built building that is privately operated,” he said.

Givens said Miller was very open to all possibilities and told him she intends the Glasgow State Nursing Facility to be the Cabinet’s number one construction project.

A 2004 masonry project revealed the State Avenue building has structural issues.

The Cabinet requested bond authorization during the Kentucky General Assembly’s 2008 session for a capital project to replace the building. The project was not funded, but the General Assembly included language in the budget bill that directed the Cabinet to develop and submit a plan to the Legislative Research Commission on Dec 1, 2008, relating to the replacement of the facility. The Cabinet submitted its report and recommended a replacement facility be constructed on the hospital’s current grounds.

The Cabinet recently released the following statement regarding the project.

“House Bill 143, which amends the states ‘budget bill’ and was recently passed by the General Assembly, only deals with solving the current year operating budget shortfall and does not contain any capital projects,” said Gwenda Bond, assistant communications director for the Cabinet. “The enacted budget for the biennium included a directive that the Cabinet evaluate and make a recommendation regarding the future of the Glasgow State Nursing Facility. The Cabinet has recommended in its report to the Legislative Research Commission that authorization and funding be made available as soon as possible for the Glasgow State Nursing Facility.”

Givens intends to meet with local officials who may play a key role in the project at a later date, however, he said he would like to meet with Miller one more time before sitting down to discuss the project with Glasgow officials.

The initial cost estimated for the project was around $22 million.

“We are certainly hoping to find a functional option that does not cost quite as much,” Givens said. “I certainly appreciate the tone that Secretary Miller used with me and her passion to see that the needs of those patients are protected. I made it apparent to her our desire to maintain that facility in the Barren County community. I do feel positively about the path that we are on.”

Rep. Johnny Bell, D-Glasgow, also supports keeping the facility open in Glasgow.

“There’s always that question until you actually get it appropriated, so we are still fighting that battle and are going to continue to do that,” he said. “But things are looking a little bit better now than they were. We are willing to look at all options to try to save the hospital.”

Bell added he was not opposed to the idea of privatization.

“I don’t think we should do anything to stop negotiations or communications on that,” he said. “I’m open to talking about that.”

Before he commits to the idea of privatization, Bell said he wanted to formulate a plan and see what privatization would do to the employees’ retirement and their seniority.

“Right now I’m open to any suggestions and look forward to working with the Senate and the House and the governor and anyone else that we can to try to keep our hospital,” he said.

The facility is licensed for 100 beds and provides nursing and mental health services for persons with mental illness and mental illness/mental retardation diagnoses. There are currently 122 state and 31 contract employees on staff, according to Bond.

Text Only