Wyoming Retirement Center's future to be discussed

WORLAND – The fate of the Wyoming Retirement Center will be discussed at an open meeting on Aug. 25 at 1:30 p.m. at the Wyoming Retirement Center in Basin.

“The Governors Facilities Task Force will be giving their recommendations to the Joint Labor, Health and Social Services Interim Committee after a brief tour of the facilities,” State Senator Charles Scott, R-Casper, who is co-chairman. The committee will also take comments from the public at this time.

According to the Nov. 1, 2014 Interim Report, in order to make a recommendation the Governors Facilities Task Force spent two years weighing the following:

—Defining vulnerable populations.

—The most effective way to provide care to vulnerable populations throughout the state.

—The proper role of the state in providing that care in a facility setting.

—The role of the private sector in providing care.

—The impact of change on facility residents who might be transitioned.

—The economic impact of change on the community.

There were four recommendations that may affect not only the Wyoming Retirement Center in Basin but also the Wyoming State Hospital in Evanston and the Wyoming Life resource Center in Lander according to the Nov. 1, 2014 Interim Report:

1(a) Integrate acute, intermediate and long-term care across the Wyoming State Hospital and the Wyoming Life Resource Center. In this option, the Wyoming Retirement Center would be privatized or closed. Cost to be determined.

Interim committee co-chairman State Rep. Elaine Harvey, R-Lovell, said, If the first option is recommended by the Task Force, “I’d like to see South Big Horn Hospital lease it from the state and be able to put their more acute patients in Bonnie Bluejacket (Memorial Nursing Home) where they are closer to medical facilities and medical personnel and have their more mobile patients out at Wyoming Retirement Center. I think that they could run two different types of programs. By doing that they are going to be able to keep the facility in the area, meet more people’s needs and retain more medical help.”

Other alternatives included in the interim report were:

— All facilities would remain in place, but the “safety net” populations would be prioritized and the facilities would specialize in the type of care offered. In this option, three facilities – the Wyoming State Hospital, Wyoming Life Resource Center, and Wyoming Retirement Center – would work together. The Wyoming Retirement Center would focus on long term care. Cost $113 million

—“Status quo plus upgrades – each facility would remain in place, and would serve the same populations and deliver the same types of care. Cost $113 million

—One facility – the Wyoming State Hospital, Wyoming Life Resource Center and the Wyoming Retirement Center - would be closed. Cost $90 million.

According to the Wyoming Department of Health website, “The Wyoming Retirement Center provides skilled nursing care to residents with mental health, dementia, and medical needs with the goal of stabilizing and helping residents reach their highest functional level. A high quality of life and care is the center’s goal for each resident. Twenty-four hour nursing; regularly scheduled physician visits; and available physical, occupational, and speech therapy all help residents regain or maintain maximal independence and health recovery. As a nursing care facility, it provides long-term care to residents who have medical conditions that require 24-hour per day nursing services under professional direction.