Families protest nursing home’s plan to charge for parking
Posted Jul 23, 2013 07:25:55 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
A concerned group of family members who have loved ones living at Saint Vincent’s Nursing Home on Windsor Street took to the streets to picket Tuesday morning.
They’re worried because the home has decided to start charging staff and visitors for parking.
The group says it’s a quality of life issue.
Linda Slaunwhite, whose mother lives at the home, told News 95.7 the added cost puts extra strain on loved ones and could mean fewer visits.
“I’ve never had to pay to visit my mom when still lived at home or in an apartment,” she said. “Most of these people, or a lot of them, are there from early in the morning until their loved one goes to bed at night.”
The Executive Director of the home, Kristin Schmit tells News 95.7 that
any fees would be reasonable and they don’t want to put anyone in any hardship.
Donna Hopkinson, who also has a family member in the home, said that’s especially true for seniors who have a loved one in the nursing home.
“For some seniors who are visiting their loved ones who are seniors in this nursing home, and living on a fixed income on their own, that could add up to be an added expense that they just don’t need,” explained Hopkinson.
She explained staff members will also be affected.
“There are some who work two jobs as it is and they’ll have to leave because they can’t afford an additional cost as it is,” she said.
The concerned family members are worried about a number of unanswered questions like how much it’s going to cost and when it’s going to be implemented.
So why is the home doing this now?
Hopkinson said she’s been told the home has a $1 million deficit.
“We don’t know why they have a million dollar deficit,” she said. “Obviously they’ve accumulated over the years but they did just buy the land here at Saint Vincent, maybe they want to pay that down, I don’t know.”
Slaunwhite said all she knows is the home says it needs money.
“I don’t really know exactly what it’s for, sometimes it’s programing, they have a million dollar debt but we didn’t accumulate their debt,” she said.
