By Denise Richardson
Robinson Terrace in Stamford has hired A.O. Fox Memorial Hospital to provide medical services, the nursing home administrator said Wednesday.
Under the two-year contract, the Oneonta hospital will provide a medical director and patient care on weekday mornings, according to Pamela Harmon, Robinson Terrace administrator. Officials didn't disclose financial terms of the agreement.
Robinson Terrace has 122 beds, with about 118 residents and eight beds for rehabilitation care, Harmon said. The contract went into effect May 1.
Margaretville Memorial Hospital had been providing medical services to the nursing home, Harmon said, but the hospital didn't have staff to meet the need. Fox and Bassett Healthcare submitted bids for the work, she said, and Fox was chosen because it offered a more comprehensive plan. A Bassett doctor remains on staff, she said.
Karen Huxtable, Bassett spokeswoman, said its physician sees some patients, and while Bassett offered to expand services, it couldn't cover all the residents. Bassett, which has never had a contract with Robinson Terrace, has contracts with Otsego Manor and Valley Health Services in Herkimer, and had one with the former Eden Park in Cobleskill, she said Thursday.
Dr. Carlton Rule, executive vice president at Fox, said medical services at Robinson Terrace will be provided through its Stamford Family Practice at 32-34 Main St. Dr. Richelle Cruz will be the medical director at Robinson Terrace, and she and family nurse practitioners Rose Wright and Christie O'Donnell will provide medical care.
Rule said the arrangement increases the links between Fox and Robinson Terrace and integrates health care for patients who choose other Fox services.
Many Robinson Terrace residents already were seeing physicians affiliated with Fox, Harmon said, and the contractual agreement is a ``good way to ensure continuity of care.''
Harmon and Rule agreed the contract and arrangement is ``a natural fit.''
Patients may continue seeing their doctors and their chosen specialist-care providers and hospitals, Harmon said. In previous years, physicians in private practice saw patients from the nursing home, but now more doctors are working for hospitals that contract for services, she said.
Harmon said Fox will bill insurance companies and others for medical care.
Fox also has a nursing home and a contract with Oneonta Nursing Home and Rehabilitation Center, Rule said. The contract with Robinson Terrace means the addition of about 100 patients to the Fox system and more financial stability, he said.
Also in May, the state Department of Health notified Robinson Terrace of approval for 30 assisted-living beds, Harmon said, and plans are in preliminary stages to build a facility. Of 125 applications, the state awarded such bed designations to 32 facilities, she said, and Robinson Terrace's approval will help meet a need for adult housing.
