The Nathaniel Witherell, Greenwich’s town owned nursing home, made national news recently when a nurse was accused of a racist rant at a supermarket in Stamford.
The rant went viral in June after the alleged victim posted a video online.
Afterward, the Witherell said there would be an investigation.
The Stamford Advocate on Sunday reported that the employee will return to her nursing home job.
This week the nursing home is back in the news for a different reason.
At Thursday’s Board of Selectmen meeting, First Selectman Camillo said new board of directors members, including chair Peter Kelly, have been doing a terrific job.
Nevertheless, he said he had organized a meeting a few months earlier with a non-profit organization.
“The exciting thing is the issue is going to be resolved I believe in the next 12 months” he said. “That is huge for Greenwich. It will not only save us money but relieve us of a liability.”
In the meantime he said the town canceled a previous RFP for the nursing home, and there are plans to issue a new one.
“This will be another game changer for Greenwich,” he said. “I think we’re going to have this thing solved.”
The next morning, on his WGCH 1490am call-in radio show, Camillo commented further, saying, “We’re looking at ways to relieve the town of annually having to subsidize (the Witherell) – sometimes between $5 and $7 million.”
“When I first got into office I wanted to get a better idea of how much we put into it and the Finance Dept looked back at that point. I believe they said the previous 9 years totaled $43 million. That’s crazy.”
Camillo said some people had their ‘heads in the sand’ and were reluctant to make a change for fear of potential backlash.
“I said, how can we get that number down to at least a reasonable amount of subsidies, if not getting rid of it completely, and finding another way of delivering the services to people, without having the town liable? Camillo continued.
“We’re pretty sure we have a model we want there, and that people will accept. We heard what the concerns were, and I share some of those concerns,” he said.
“People have to be comfortable knowing if their loved ones are there they can pick up the phone and have someone look into it, and I think some of the options before were making people nervous.”
Indeed, back in 2022, when the facility had fallen to a one-star rating, via the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), there was talk of outsourcing via a long-term lease to a for-profit operator.
At a December 2022 RTM meeting, there was both support for outsourcing, as well as vehement opposition, especially if outsourcing was to a company with a low star rating on CMS.
“There is a path forward and we’re hoping that within the last 12 months we’ll be able to deliver that,” Camillo said at the Selectmen meeting. “This is something that has been going on for decades. We want to put it to bed because it’s not only unfair to the taxpayers, but to people with relatives in there.”
He said more information will be made available in coming weeks and months.
Tony Savino asked Camillo whether a non-profit organization might be selected to run the operation.
“Whatever non-profit it is – we opened it up. RFP means it’s open to everyone. We think that’s the way to go there because for-profit does alarm some people.”
“The exciting thing is the issue is going to be resolved I believe in the next 12 months” he said. “That is huge for Greenwich. It will not only save us money but relieve us of a liability.”
See also:
June 9, 2026
Volunteering at Nathaniel Witherell Fosters Meaningful Connections Across Generations
July 25, 2026
Dozens Speak during Public Hearing on Possible Privatization of Nathaniel Witherell
Dec 19, 2022
Witherell Overall Rating Drops to 1 Star after Inspections Reveal 16 Deficiencies Including Abuse
Aug 3, 2022