Strafford County delegation hears Riverside Rest Home describe staffing shortfalls, aging building and financing options

Strafford County delegates and staff at a delegation meeting heard detailed testimony about capacity, staffing and capital shortfalls at Riverside Rest Home and discussed financing options for a new facility and interim uses for the existing building.

The briefing, given by Riverside staff and medical personnel, said the facility now operates about 170 of its 215 licensed beds and keeps separate dementia and behavior units that state rate calculations exclude. Delegates were told staffing shortages keep one entire unit closed, and administrators laid out the staff levels they say would be required to reopen it.

County leaders said the issue matters because counties share a portion of Medicaid costs and rising nursing-home expenses affect local budgets and, ultimately, property taxpayers.

Riverside staff described how federal and state reimbursement rules affect local budgets. “We currently operate 170 of our 215 beds,” said Ray, a Riverside administrator, adding that a 42-bed dementia unit and a 36-bed behavior unit are not included in state acuity counts because the state treats those as atypical, higher-reimbursing populations. Ray and other speakers described skilled-care…