The Danville Register and Bee is reporting that a new nursing home has been approved for Chatham, Virginia. The nursing home would house 60 certified beds and would initially bring 55 full-time jobs to the area. Its price tag is approximately $5.8 million. Read the article here.
Pittsylvania County is very under-served in terms of available nursing home beds. However, the company who will design, build, and probably operate the nursing home (West Piedmont Health Investors and Smith/Packett) doesn’t have the best track record in protecting the rights of its residents. One of the company’s developments, Carrington Place in Botetourt County, Virginia requires all of its residents to sign a mandatory arbitration agreement upon admission which prohibits the resident (or their family) from filing a civil lawsuit when the facility is guilty of neglect or abuse. Simply put, the arbitration agreement prevents anyone from holding the facility accountable for its actions.
Word of warning to Pittsylvania County and its residents – Be Careful What You Ask For!