Wicomico County Council Passes Emergency Nursing Home Legislation

WICOMICO COUNTY, Md. — The Wicomico County Council voted Tuesday to approve emergency legislation outlining new rules for the operation and oversight of the Wicomico County Nursing Home.

The council voted 6-1 in favor of Legislative Bill 2026-11. The legislation establishes rules for the nursing home’s operation, changes how its administrator is appointed and creates a Nursing Home Commission to provide oversight.

The bill comes as county officials continue to discuss the nursing home’s management and how it should be overseen.

Disagreement over emergency legislation

The use of emergency legislation was a point of disagreement during Tuesday’s meeting.

Steve Lakin, assistant director of administration for Wicomico County, said the county administration supports the concept of an advisory board but does not believe the legislation needs to be passed as an emergency.

“There is no emergency at the Wicomico Nursing Home. Yet this council is poised to pass emergency resolution,” Lakin said.

Lakin defended the nursing home’s current administrator, Tina Foskey, saying she identified deficiencies at the facility and took action to address them.

He also argued that some of the issues being discussed at the meeting existed before Foskey became administrator.

“Before Tina Foskey was an administrator. We’ve proven again and again these issues have existed for years,” Lakin said.

Giordano raises legal concerns

County Executive Julie Giordano also spoke against the legislation, raising concerns about the council’s proposed authority over the nursing home administrator and the county’s potential legal responsibilities.

She questioned whether the legislation would change the county’s role as the operator of the nursing home and whether it could affect employees, contracts, insurance claims, liability and the facility’s finances.

“Does it affect whether the nursing home employees become subject to county personnel policies? Does it affect whether the nursing home revenues and expenditures now become county governmental funds? Does it affect the nursing homes existing corporate or organizational status?” Giordano said.

Giordano also objected to a provision that would allow the County Council to terminate the nursing home administrator with a five-member vote, saying she believed the provision conflicted with the county’s charter.

She asked the council to amend the provision before passing the legislation.

Questions over county liability

Councilmember James Winn raised similar concerns about the county’s potential liability.

“I don’t really know right now if the county owns and that we own the property at the nursing home, but we don’t have an operation of the nursing home,” Winn said.

Winn questioned whether establishing the nursing home as a county entity through the legislation could expose county taxpayers to additional liability if something went wrong at the facility.

“If something happens, like in a month or so, who’s liable is the county right now? If we passed the way it says now, it’s a county entity and according to this legislation we’re taking ownership of it now. Are we going to be liable?” Winn said.

County Council Attorney Robert Benson explained that the county is already legally responsible for the nursing home, pointing to a lawsuit involving a medical testing contract at the facility.

He said the lawsuit sought more than $500,000 and that the county’s law department defended the case. According to Benson, the county acknowledged in its legal response that it owns and operates the nursing home.

“The bottom line is, unfortunately, what happened? The county already operates the nursing home. Wicomico County is already liable for everything that happens at the nursing home,” Benson said.

Concerns raised about nursing home conditions

Del. Sheree Sample-Hughes supported the legislation while also discussing concerns that have surfaced at the nursing home.

She said the state had conducted an assessment of the facility and identified deficiencies that need to be addressed. She also said the Department of Labor had been contacted by an employee regarding workplace concerns.

Sample-Hughes shared the story of an activities coordinator who told her she was leaving the nursing home after 18 years.

“She came to me and she said, I’m sorry I have to do this, but I have to leave. I have to leave because this environment is toxic and I can no longer be here,” Sample-Hughes said.

Sample-Hughes also emphasized her support for making sure a family member of a nursing home resident would serve on the legislation’s Nursing Home Commission.

Council questions nursing home’s organizational structure

During the meeting, council members also questioned the nursing home’s organizational structure and who is responsible for overseeing the facility.

Councilmember Josh Hastings said he had recently received information that the nursing home was operating under a nonprofit structure, but questions remained about who was responsible for overseeing that organization.

“When I ask that question to the administrator, it was, “okay, well, this is a nonprofit.” Well, I still don’t know the name of the nonprofit,” Hastings said.

Hastings said the lack of a clear board or organizational structure has created uncertainty over who is responsible for the facility.

“The reason why we’ve gotten to this point is that we are in this no man’s land of, well, it’s not quite ours and not quite theirs. So there that’s what puts forth leadership gap,” Hastings said.

Hastings also said the nursing home needs a clear plan for its future, including addressing the condition of the facility and potential capital improvements.

“What we’re trying to do here is just appoint oversight and very quickly put oversight into the situation because it’s needed,” Hastings said.

Councilmember David Ennis said the county also needs to determine how the nursing home is structured and how it is connected to the county.

Ennis said he had requested the nursing home’s W-9 and EIN to help clarify its legal and financial structure, but said he never received an answer about what entity those documents represented.

“So I figured out the answer was there is no, there is no legal entity,” Ennis said.

Ennis said establishing the commission would provide immediate oversight while the county works to clarify the nursing home’s organizational structure and develop a long-term plan for the facility.

Council makes amendments before final vote

The council made several amendments to the legislation before voting on the bill.

One amendment changed the timeline for establishing the nursing home’s personnel system to coincide with the fiscal year 2028 budget.

Another changed the Nursing Home Commission to seven voting members appointed by the county executive and confirmed by the County Council.

The council also amended the legislation to add a resident family advocate to the commission.

Winn proposed removing the County Council’s authority to terminate the nursing home administrator with a five-member vote. The amendment failed 5-2.

The other amendments discussed during the meeting passed unanimously.

The legislation now establishes the framework for the Nursing Home Commission as county officials continue to address questions surrounding the nursing home’s oversight, organizational structure and long-term future.