Prosser nursing home sold to Eagle Healthcare

PROSSER -- Prosser Memorial Hospital has decided to sell its nursing home to Eagle Healthcare, Inc.

The public hospital's board of directors voted 4-3 Thursday night to sell its aging, cramped nursing home to the private provider. The decision allows the hospital administrators to negotiate a contract with Eagle.

Thursday's board meeting, moved to a local church, drew about 50 people and numerous speakers, many of them employees arguing against the sale.

The 36-bed nursing home, which the hospital calls a transitional care facility, has no room to grow and needs extensive upgrades to comply with state codes that mandate a comfortable, home-like setting with private rooms. Prosser Memorial's facility has only double rooms.

A committee of community members, board members and physicians had recommended selling it to Eagle Healthcare, a Kenmore, Wash. company that owns nursing homes in Sunnyside, Grandview and Richland.

Meanwhile, many employees of the nursing home tried to convince hospital leaders to keep it, arguing that Prosser Memorial would provide better care than Eagle.

Many of the nursing home employees once worked for Eagle, said Elaine Hissam, a registered nurse.

One idea was to ask voters to approve a bond to build a new facility off-campus.

"There's a lot of avenues they just didn't look at," Hissam said.

Hissam and other employees presented a petition asking the hospital to retain ownership of the home.

Hospital leaders have plans for expanding the hospital's emergency, birth and surgical departments.

Prosser Memorial CEO Jim Tavary argued a bond measure for a new nursing home, even if approved, would chew up debt capacity needed for those other improvements.

The recommendation committee visited all the Eagle nursing homes in the area, he said, countering questions about quality of care.

"We're convinced that Eagle will provide excellent care," he said.

* Ross Courtney can be reached at 930-8798 or rcourtney@yakimaherald.com.