Nursing home lease offer to be studied by board

Bedford County Nursing Home's board of directors will discuss a lease proposal from Care Centers Management Group at its meeting 5 p.m. Thursday night at the county courthouse.

Any lease agreement would ultimately have to be approved or denied by Bedford County Board of Commissioners.

Commissioners voted in March to seek proposals from private operators to lease the county-owned nursing home. Some commissioners see this as a prelude to someday selling the facility; others are firmly opposed to a sale and believe the county should keep ownership of the facility.

Care Centers Management Group, based in Johnson City, owns some facilities and operates others under lease agreements like the one being proposed here. The company's Gary Parker, speaking at previous county meetings, has said that in some cases a county has leased its facility to Care Centers Management Group and then become comfortable enough with the company to sell the facility outright at the end of the lease. Although the company uses the name "Christian Care Center" for some of its facilities, it is not affiliated with any specific denomination.

The county sought requests for proposals from companies interested in a lease and has been negotiating specific terms with Care Centers Management Group. The first public mention that CCMG was the chosen bidder was at Tuesday night's joint meeting of the county commission's courthouse and law enforcement committees; commissioners were specifically invited to attend the nursing home board meeting.

Thursday night's meeting will be held in the first floor courtroom at the courthouse.