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Article published February 17, 2010
County decides not to sell Sunnyview
BUTLER TWP — Butler County will not sell the Sunnyview Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. County Commissioner Dale Pinkerton, board chairman, said at Thursday's Sunnyview board meeting the nursing home's shrinking deficit makes a sale unnecessary. "We are continuing to run Sunnyview at this time," Pinkerton said. The commissioners were considering selling Sunnyview citing its financial drain on the county. While the county will not bring in a management company to operate the facility, there will be an administration change. Dr. William DiCuccio resigned as Sunnyview's executive director to concentrate on building a school in Villa Hermosa, Dominican Republic, as part of a mission he founded there. Pinkerton said DiCuccio won't be replaced as executive director, so Sunnyview administrator Sue Murray will report directly to the commissioners' office. However, DiCuccio remains Sunnyview's medical director. The county projects Sunnyview to have a roughly $500,000 deficit for 2009. County officials are waiting for the completion of an internal audit for the final number. Pinkerton said the county will continue to monitor Sunnyview's financial status. "We hope to continue to make strides," he said about reducing the nursing home's losses, which exceeded $1 million in 2008 and was $1.12 million in 2007. Pinkerton said Sunnyview can achieve a balanced budget. "I believe it can be done," he said. Commissioner Jim Lokhaiser said the timing was right to make a decision about Sunnyview. "I think it's time to put this to bed," he said. However, Lokhaiser agreed with Pinkerton that Sunnyview's finances must continue to be reviewed. "We're not out of the woods yet," Lokhaiser said. He praised union workers for signing a new contract for 2010 that included concessions such as outsourcing the laundry department. DiCuccio said both sides should not stop working together for the benefit of the nursing home. "I hope some spirit of cooperation between the union and county would continue," he said. Bonnie Gould, union steward at Sunnyview, said in an interview the commissioners' announcement was good news. "The concessions we made were to keep it county owned now and in the future," she said. Along with a possible sale, another option for the county was to hire a firm to manage Sunnyview. Diversified Health Service of Plymouth Meeting, a suburb of Philadelphia, operated the nursing home from 1992 to 2002. A volunteer committee led by Jim Roddey, the former chief executive of Allegheny County, reiterated the county's three options: to keep Sunnyview, to bring in a management company or to sell it. Kennedy gave his vote of confidence to Sunnyview's current administration. "Our management team has stepped up to the plate," he said. During the meeting, Earl Maier, a union employee at Sunnyview, praised DiCuccio's leadership. "It's really sad you're leaving us," Maier said of DiCuccio. "You really helped us out." Gould agreed. "We really regret the loss of the0 executive director," she said. Before DiCuccio's tenure began, Sunnyview went through a string of administrators and had poor relations with the union. But losing an executive director isn't going to save the county any money. DiCuccio, 61, did not accept a salary for most of the time he's served in that post. For the first two months, he received $18 an hour. As medical director, DiCuccio earns $36,000 annually. In 2009, he gave back $6,000 of that to Sunnyview. DiCuccio, who lives in Adams Township with his wife, Marge, has been the medical director since the early 1980s. The commissioners thanked DiCuccio for his efforts at Sunnyview. He stressed his priority always has been resident care. Murray said she enjoyed working with DiCuccio. "I learned a lot from him," she said. "He was a great mentor."
