The New York State Department of Health has awarded Sullivan County $1.1 million for improvements to the county nursing home located in Liberty. The county had applied for this funding in February, through a competitive grant process.

“We held several meetings with SLAC, as well as the Family Council of the Adult Care Center and other stakeholders during 2011 to develop ways to keep our nursing home as a county-run facility for our senior citizens,” said majority leader Kathy LaBuda.

According to county legislature chair Scott Samuelson, the improvements the funds should facilitate “will result in making the county’s nursing home more attractive and competitive to increase the occupancy.”

The grants are made available through New York State’s Health Care Efficiency and Affordability Law (HEAL NY). The development of Sullivan County’s HEAL Grant application was a collaborative effort between the County’s Grants Administration Department, Division of Public Works and the Sullivan County Adult Care Center. The county’s aim is to develop a reconfigured health care system in order to deliver more efficient and higher quality care to meet the health care needs of the facility’s residents and community.