Strafford County delegates press case for new Riverside Rest Home after tour of outdated facility

Delegation members touring Riverside Rest Home said the county-run nursing facility is showing its age and urged a concrete plan to replace it. A county official and Riverside staff described leaking showers, a sewer failure that briefly required porta-potties, asbestos that complicates in-place renovations, and repeated infection-control problems during COVID and norovirus outbreaks. “It is an infectious disease nightmare,” one medical presenter said.

Speakers emphasized the human consequences of the building’s condition: many rooms remain double-occupancy, there is only "one shower for 45 residents" on at least one unit, and staff must juggle multiple residents who require one-on-one assistance. A Riverside representative said the facility rehabs rooms as they become vacant but called the improvements modest: "we're rehabbing those rooms regularly… basically putting a new coat of paint on cinder block wall." Delegates asked staff to return with a fiscally detailed plan — including bond scenarios and whether phased repairs or a full replacement would minimize tax impacts — and scheduled a follow-up meeting in August to discuss cost, census and funding options.