Council approves $10 million for Gracedale workers’ bonuses

Plan will help with employee retention, save long-term facility, county executive says

Northampton County Council approved a plan to provide $10 million in bonuses for Gracedale employees and new hires to help with retention as the publicly run nursing home continues to battle labor shortages.

County Executive Lamont McClure, in what he termed a plan to save the Upper Nazareth Township long-term care facility, sought council’s approval Thursday night to provide the bonuses, which will be paid as $2,500 increments in annual pay boosts up to four years.

The money will come from the $30.3 million the county received in COVID-19 federal relief. In all, council approved $14 million for Gracedale, which has been struggling since the pandemic broke in early 2020 to keep staff and operations going.

“We’ve got to stop the bleeding,” McClure said, “and that’s what this is about.”

Council’s approval did not come without some questions or comments aimed at McClure and other county officials. The board spent much of its three-hour meeting discussing the funding, which was broken down into five resolutions requiring separate votes.

“I don’t see why we rush this money out the door,” said Lori Vargo Heffner, council president. “You can always come back and ask for more.”

McClure’s proposal offers pay incentives that could amount to $10,000 up to four years, for new hires and existing staff, in $5 million buckets each. Council deliberated mostly on the bonuses for existing workers and the new help, and it voted against the money going to at least three top administrators.

“It’s tough to be the bad guy, but clearly Gracedale was in a bad predicament,” Councilmember John Goffredo said. “I think it’s wrong to give bonuses to the administration when you are to

be running things smoothly. We’re sending the wrong message.”

Council voted 5-4 on his motion to exclude the supervisors.

Councilmember John Brown, who was the only “no” vote on bonuses, asked whether McClure would change course if the program does not produce results.

“The question I have is how are you going to measure success,” said Brown, the one-time county executive, “if you are still bleeding employees and the program is not working?”

Need is now for workers

McClure said administrators can monitor the success or failure, but the need is crucial for more workers. He said 450 employees are serving about 400 residents. The longterm care facility, the largest in the state under one roof, can serve 688 clients with far greater numbers of workers.

Both resident and employee numbers have been down significantly, meaning Gracedale is operating at less than two-thirds capacity, which reduces revenue. In addition, McClure also has said Gracedale is threatened by a potential state mandate increasing hours of care daily, and a federal rule that might require two residents per room. Much of Gracedale is set up for four people per room.

Also, a federal mandate that Gracedale employees be vaccinated against COVID-19 cost 40 to 50 staff members, he said.

County officials have wrestled with ways to hire more workers since the pandemic. Some steps have included hiring temporary workers and bringing in the Pennsylvania National Guard. But just as hospitals have faced staffing shortages, many nursing homes, assisted living facilities and senior care facilities across the Lehigh Valley and the country are having difficulty finding enough employees in the long run.

Council also voted for $2 million on a day care facility, which McClure has pushed for months. He said adding child care would provide an incentive toward recruiting and retaining nurses and support staff.

The day care will be on Gracedale property but operated by a private company, Learning Locomotion. Representatives from the business presented council with details of its plans for the child care operation.

Council additionally approved spending $1 million on capital improvements, with the nine-member board also agreeing to provide $1 million to pay for the temporary or “agency” nurses. McClure had sought $2.5 million, but Heffner moved to cut most of the funding.

“You can come back and ask for more money; we have it until 2024,” Heffner said of the federal dollars. Her amendment to the temporary nurses resolution passed 6-3.

McClure has dubbed efforts toward the nursing home “Saving Gracedale Again.” More than a decade ago, county officials attempted to sell the financially struggling home. McClure, while on council, was a leading voice against the move, and a referendum effort he endorsed stopped a sale.

On Thursday night, county officials and council didn’t bring up a possible sale, but it’s clear the clock is ticking on whether the additional money will solve the crisis.

“We really have to try something,” said councilmember Ronald Heckman, who has spent years working in human services and serves as liaison on Gracedale’s advisory board. “This is a make or break situation with the home.”

Gracedale’s operating revenue is about $90.6 million, according to the county’s 2022 budget, with more than 50%, or about $47 million, in personnel costs. As one of 17 county-owned care homes in the state, Gracedale, like Cedarbrook in Lehigh County, houses people who can’t afford private nursing homes.