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Dear Editor;
In a stunning county board meeting after multiple closed sessions, on January 18, 2022, the Iowa County Board by a vote of 15-5, decided to shutter one of the oldest institutes the county runs, Bloomfield Manor. This is the nursing home that the county has run for more years than I know. It is a home to more than 30 plus souls that do not have the means to pay for expensive private nursing facilities. Or, that don't have families that can take care of them. This is their home and has been for years.
I know the County Administrator and County Board Supervisor will say it is a fiscal issue and yes, in this pandemic time it has been a struggle, from getting PPE supplies to hiring qualified staff, but this isn't the time to abandon an institute that has served thousands of residents through the years. To help the county through this pandemic, the Federal government has made available funds called "American Rescue Plan Act/Fiscal Recovery Funds". This funding is set up to off-set the additional costs the county has incurred during the pandemic. And if the county's funds were so tight, how and why would they give the County Administrator a 6% raise and a $15,000 bonus? Also, the county had to replace a 30 year old jail with a new state of the art $28 million facility? Looks to me like the county and the Administrator are more concerned with giving people incarcerated a better life than helping the aging population.
A few years back the county had on the ballot, a question about taking care of our older population and having a facility for them. The result was 68% voted yes, that is a strong yes! Lafayette County, Grant County and even Dane County either have plans or have built new nursing homes in the past 10 years. If they can, why not Iowa County? My biggest question to the County Board is why not put this on a referendum and let the good people of Iowa County decide? Does the County Supervisor and the County Administrator make all the decisions? In these tough times we need to roll up our sleeves and come up with solutions not just shutter things because they are tough. We owe it to the greatest generation and to all the Iowa County residents that need help.
County Board Chair John Meyers says the county can't compete with assisted living facilities, he is correct. But Bloomfield is not in competition with assisted living facilities. Bloomfield provides a service to Iowa County's elderly population. Bloomfield also provides over 60 meals a day for the SUN program. Where will all these meals be prepared now? Or will the County Board be eliminating that service also? These are more than just a meal to those that receive them. Sometimes, this is the only contact some of these people have during the day. It also serves as a welfare check on them. The County Administrator and Board Chair Meyers say we want to keep residents in their homes, well the SUN program is an important part in that process that may be eliminated.
Please contact your County Board Representative and tell them to let the good people of Iowa County make the decisions.
Sincerely,
John T. Crook
Dodgeville, WI