Hospital Administrator to Be Recruited : 9-Month Study of Edgemoor Approved

County health officials have nine months to study alternative ways of running the troubled Edgemoor Geriatric Hospital, under a plan approved Tuesday by the Board of Supervisors.

The Health Services Department also won approval to recruit a full-time administrator and prepare a master plan for the hospital, though several supervisors insisted they would keep a close watch on the process.

“I certainly wouldn’t go along with any major changes in Edgemoor without them coming before the board for approval,” Supervisor George F. Bailey said at the board’s regular meeting.

Under the new plan, the county’s top administrator is to report to the board in nine months on new ways of offering long-term care, such as contracting with private nursing homes, setting up a geriatric health authority, or creating a nonprofit corporation.

The plan also sets aside $125,000 to hire a contractor to prepare a master plan for the hospital. Later, an architect and financing team may be hired to proceed with any redevelopment.

Finally, the supervisors approved the recruitment of an administrator to run the hospital, in spite of a freeze they imposed Monday on the hiring of new Health Services Department administrators.

It could take four to five months to find the right candidate, health officials said. After that, the county’s chief administrative officer said, the hiring would come before the board again for a final OK.

“We have nine months to study,” Health Services Department Deputy Director Paul Simms said after the vote. “We have provided the board with sufficient information for them to have some confidence in the model we have developed.”

One option that the master plan may address is the possibility of expanding the 323-bed hospital to 400 beds.

Edgemoor has been the subject recently of investigations by the county grand jury and Civil Service Commission, the state auditor general’s office and the state Department of Health Services.

Last month, state inspectors found that all 18 problematic conditions found in an earlier survey had been corrected. But they found that improvements in patient care, rehabilitation, and food preparation were still needed.