iCare Happy To Be Moving Patients Into 60 West Street Facility

After all of the objections of neighbors, the Town of Rocky Hill's elected officials and other politicians, the nursing home at 60 West Street has gained all of the licenses needed to open and has, in fact, began to enroll patients in the facility. 

The Town filed suit and Assistant Zoning Officer Kim Ricci issued a cease and desist order to SecureCare Realty, LLC, owner of 60 West Street, site of the proposed nursing home. The letter echoed the language of the the lawsuit the town had filed. The letter and lawsuit say the nursing home will, in fact, be a prison and that according to Rocky Hill zoning regulations a prison is not allowed in a residential neighborhood.

The objections fell upon deaf ears. 

The state put online a Q&A to answer questions. The site says 60 West Street is a 95 bed nursing home for hard to place individuals that meet Department of Social Services criteria for Nursing Home level of care. It is a collaborative venture between the State Departments of Mental Health and Addiction Services (DMHAS), Correction (DOC), and Social Services (DSS). SecureCare Options, LLC is the vendor for the nursing home. The nursing home was expected to open in February 2013.

The release went on to say: The nursing home will serve individuals who meet Nursing home Level of Care. Individuals that are expected to be placed in the nursing home may be transitioning from an inpatient level of care at DMHAS or from infirmaries at the Department of Correction.  Patients will have a range of serious and chronic medical impairmentsthat may include dementia, strokes, paralysis, and cancer. Some individuals may be dealing with conditions such as Parkinson’s, Huntington’s or Multiple Sclerosis.

"Individuals may be confined to wheelchairs or require walkers, or other adaptive devices for mobility or self-care. Patients served must come from a DOC or DMHAS facility and be difficult to place in other living situations. A committee will oversee admissions and ensure that each patient is comprehensively evaluated, considering information related to medical conditions, psychiatric status, and current behavior. The nursing home will not accept any patient that poses a risk to the public." 

The state believes the nursing home will help the Town of Rocky Hill. "The nursing home will employ 200 staff. 60 West will provide tax revenue as a fully operational nursing home. It is not expected that 60 West will increase use of town emergency services over the level used when the building was last operated as a nursing home."

In a report in the Hartford Courant, Michael Landi, icare Vice President of Operations was quoted as saying, "We are pleased to announce that we have received our state nursing home license and have begun serving patients at 60 West. We remain fully committed to working with the state of Connecticut and operating a quality nursing home," i-care Vice President of Operations Michael Landi said. " "Many people from multiple state agencies have worked extremely hard and have provided dedicated leadership in order to bring this important public project to fruition. We are confident that we will be a good neighbor and a good employer in Rocky Hill."