With a vote of 5-to-4, Northampton County Council approved the creation of a new county department, Continuum of Care at Gracedale, to serve as the county’s integrated care and planning hub for the future of Gracedale. This department will be focused exclusively on Gracedale and, once filled, will remove oversight of Gracedale from the county’s Human Services Department.

This new structure includes a Director of Human Services Continuum of Care who will provide senior executive leadership at Gracedale Nursing Home focused on strategy, external partnerships, funding alignment and long-range system design. The new structure also includes a Deputy Director of Human Services Continuum of Care, who would handle implementation, cross-department coordination, reporting, compliance and the operational details that turn policy into results, as well as offering fiscal oversight.

“This proposal is about building the leadership structure required to manage one of the county’s most important assets and responsibilities: caring for our aging residents and vulnerable populations with dignity, coordination and long-term financial responsibility,” said County Executive Tara Zrinski.

The Continuum of Care Department at Gracedale will coordinate the full continuum: nursing care, supportive living and future campus-based development reflecting the needs of the continuum of care across the 364 acres upon which Gracedale occupies. That approach reflects the direction already being discussed through the Gracedale Continuum of Care items on the Council agenda.

“The Continuum of Care Department gives Northampton County the framework to modernize service delivery, support Gracedale’s future and align public resources with a more integrated model of care,” Zrinski said.

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