Laurence LaDue appointed Valley View administrator

GOSHEN — Laurence LaDue has been appointed to run Valley View, the county-owned nursing home, at an annual salary of $130,000.

"It’s my pleasure to welcome Mr. LaDue to Orange County and Valley View,” said County Executive Edward Diana in a statement after making the appointment on Monday. “Mr. LaDue brings with him a great deal of expertise in similar facilities and has experience with the types of programs and services available at Valley View. Most importantly, he understands the needs and concerns of the residents and their families. We wish him the very best of luck in his new position."

Previously LaDue was previously administrator at a smaller nursing home, Putnam Ridge in Brewster, which has 160 beds. Valley View has 360. The Council of Certified Activities Professionals last year selected LaDue from a pool of nationwide candidates for its Administrator of the Year award.

LaDue earned a master's in health services from the New School for Social Research in New York City and received his bachelor's from Pennsylvania State University. He is licensed by the New York State Department of Health.

Legislature gets more involved
The appointment is subject to approval by the Orange County Legislature. Diana terminated the county's contract with the outgoing administrator, Orange Administrative Services, last year, after a legislative investigative committee issued a damning report of OAS's management. OAS had an option to buy Valley View, which some believe constituted a conflict of interest: If he ran the nursing home into the ground, the theory went, he could buy the facility more cheaply.

That conflict is now gone, says Orange County Legislator Dan Castricone, who interviewed candidates as head of the Personnel and Compensation Committee. He said he conducted six interviews in person and by phone, and that Legislator Michael Amo of Central Valley, head of the Health and Mental Health Committee, also participated by phone.

Castricone said LaDue has lots of experience, including at Valley View itself for a period of time eight years as an under-administrator. He said he talked to people who lived at Valley View when LaDue worked there, and that their memories of him were very positive.

"We've got a highly qualified guy whose got a clean slate," Castricone said. "There are no shenanigans, no options to buy the place, no conflicts of interest, real or perceived. All that's gone."

Castricone said LaDue will cost much less than OAS. Even when adding benefits, and pay and benefits for an assistant, he said, the total administrative cost for Valley will be about $260,000, compared to the $750,000 the county paid OAS. Also, OAS worked under a contract, while LaDue will not. With accountability a major concern among lawmakers, LaDue will be answerable to the legislature as well as the county executive.

"But at the end of the day, it's the county executive" he'll answer to, said Castricone, because Diana run the government on a day-to-day basis. But the legislature will oversee the facility's finances.

OAS will remain at Valley View through January to aid with the transition, Castricone said. The two committees, Health and Personnel, will decide about LaDue this month. If he's approved, a vote by the full legislature may come as early as the first week of February, he said.

LaDue will then serve a six months' probation.

Legislator Tom Pahucki of New Hampton, who has often criticized the county executive for not involving the legislature in important decisions, said he would have preferred the interviews conducted by a full committee of the legislature rather than just one or two members. And he said he's worried about some poor ratings the state gave Putnam Ridge, where LaDue worked last, but acknowledged it's not always easy for a nursing home to get high ratings. He said he regarded LaDue's appointment with a "guarded optimism."

"I hope he will be someone we can work with," Pahucki said.