GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.—Families of patients in a state-run nursing home are making an emotional appeal to Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter not to shut it down in a budget-cutting move.
Ritter wants to close the skilled-nursing unit at the Grand Junction Regional Center to save an estimated $2.8 million annually. The state is trying to eliminate a $320 million budget shortfall.
The 32 patients would be moved elsewhere and 57 jobs would be cut.
About 100 people attended a meeting in Grand Junction Tuesday asking Ritter to spare the center or to call a special session of the Legislature to look at other options.
Connie Robbins-Brady, whose 25-year-old son is a patient in the skilled-nursing unit, says families are angry, fearful and frustrated.
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Information from: The Daily Sentinel,
