Willow Point appoints new administrator, increases wages for workers
VESTAL, N.Y. (WIVT/WBGH) – There was a celebration at Willow Point last week, marking the arrival of a new leader and more staff at higher salaries.
Willow Point Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Vestal held a pinning ceremony on Thursday recognizing some veteran employees for their decades of service.
The Broome County owned and operated nursing home has seen an influx of new faces in recent months.
Since February 1, when the county made significant increases to the pay it offers to nurses and aides, 71 people have been hired.
There's also a new administrator.
Sonya Moshier comes to Willow Point with 36 years of running senior living facilities.
Moshier says she's looking forward to putting her experience to work.
'I've overseen sub-acute, palliative and different types of memory care units. I'd like to be able to bring some of that history and be able to implement services here at Willow Point,' said Moshier.
Broome County Executive Jason Garnar says the new employees are allowing Willow Point to reopen some wings that had to be closed due to staffing shortages.
The pay increases were accomplished by shifting funds around within the nursing home's budget.
The new hires will decrease Willow Point's reliance since COVID on expensive travel nurses.
Garnar says the recent moves illustrate the county's commitment to keeping Willow Point.
'Broome County is absolutely committed to Willow Point. We're committed to our seniors, and we're committed to having a public nursing home here that takes care of our seniors. We're making critical investments, not just talking about it, we're actually putting millions of dollars into it. And we will continue to do so to ensure that our residents receive the highest level of care that they deserve,' said Garnar.
Garnar gave credit to Mike Keenan, the former administrator of Good Shepherd Village at Endwell, who had been serving as a consultant for Willow Point.
Keenan helped to devise the salary restructuring, which the legislature approved, as well as the hiring of Moshier.
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