All Good Things Come to Those Who Wait!

At the January 2011 annual Seniorsfirst General Meeting, I used the theme "All good things come to those who wait". It was a "tongue-in-cheek" optimistic twist on what certainly was a frustrating year of delays, stagnation and waiting, Waiting and WAITING.................


Nearly 6 months later, it appears that good things do come to those who wait, especially if you push hard enough for what you passionately believe in.


We pushed hard with our state legislature to implement the NYS Medicaid rate revisions, that were suppose to go into effect April 2009. It took a combination of many personal visits with several of our elected officials in Albany and a group lawsuit filed against the state of New York, but the final 2011 state budget passed in April includes the promised Medicaid rate revisions. This revision will rebalance Medicaid dollars across the state at no net cost to the state. There will be losers and winners in the rebalancing. Kirkhaven will be a big winner when the rates are implemented and retroactively settled next month.


We pushed hard with the local NYS department of health in finalizing our assisted living licensing application and, after more than 6 years of administrative red-tape that has delayed the licensing of all active assisted living facilities, we finally received our official licensure notice.

We pushed hard and after months of inconveniences and disruptions to our routines, we have successfully completed a Kirkhaven redecorating project that spruced up our resident households with a much needed "face lift" while we wait for the day when we are able to totally replace our antiquated building with our household cottages.


There is still much that we are waiting for, but we will continue to push hard for these as well. We are working hard with our board and leadership staff on strategies to strengthen our Valley Manor occupancy and fiscal operation. We are working hard with our strategic partners and contacts to pursue available funding for our Kirkhaven Replacement project.


There never seems to be a lack of challenges, a detour to navigate or a frustration to overcome, but we'll keep pushing and continue to believe that "all good things come to those who wait!"


Anne DiCesare, RN (Assisted Living Manager) and I proudly displaying our license