Delegation divided over Riverside rest home losses and quality of care; members call for focused follow-up

Strafford County legislators on Feb. 20 heard competing accounts about the county nursing home’s finances: several members warned of longstanding operating losses, while others defended the quality of care and management.

Representative Wall, presenting the Riverside/Rest Home subcommittee report, praised care standards and infection control at Riverside and said the subcommittee voted to advance the budget. "We're not wasting money at Riverside," she said, noting stable staffing and dedicated long-term employees.

Other members cited multi-year accounting figures and urged clarity. One member described the 2024 operating loss figure shown in the committee materials as "7,165,426" and said the county had posted losses for over a decade; another member estimated roughly $66 million in cumulative losses over ten years and urged that the delegation treat the matter as a fiscal priority.

Members requested standardized Medicaid cost reports and multi-year trends be included in the committee packet; the chair agreed a focused nursing-home meeting will be scheduled in April to allow a full review of cost structures, revenue streams, and potential efficiency opportunities.

Committee members said that while financial sustainability is essential, it should not be framed as a critique of care quality. "We take in the poorest, the oldest, the sickest at the end of their lives, and that's the right thing to do," one member said, emphasizing the facility's role and the limits of county authority over state and federal funding decisions.

A separate special committee on the nursing home will be convened in April to review the requested Medicaid cost reports, salary trends, and potential reforms before the delegation finalizes budget decisions.