San Mateo County Board of Supervisors Approves Nursing Home Plan

As expected, the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors Tuesday voted unanimously to approve a plan that calls for the county to assume control of the 281-bed Burlingame Healthcare Center and allows the 140 residents of the nursing home to remain at the facility, the San Jose Mercury News reports (Kwan, San Jose Mercury News, 6/25). Under an agreement first reached last week, the county will make the nursing home part of the San Mateo Medical Center, the county public hospital. The county will pay Burlingame Healthcare Center property owner Vince Muzzi $58,000 per month in rent for the first year and $110,000 per month in subsequent years, according to Assistant County Manager Paul Scannell; the lease could last between two-and-a-half and 20 years (California Healthline, 6/23). Most of the employees at the nursing home will be hired by the county. Scannell said that the nursing home needs about 225 residents to break even, and Supervisor Jerry Hill added that the county could make $1 million to $3 million annually after the facility reaches capacity (San Jose Mercury News, 6/25). A bankruptcy court must approve the lease before the county can officially take over operation of the nursing home; county leaders expect the court to approve the lease and say that the county may assume control as early as July, the San Mateo County Times reports (Sherbert, San Mateo County Times, 6/25).