Delhi News Bureau

DELHI — The residents of Delaware County's Countryside Care Center are all getting new beds, and the old beds will be available free of charge to area residents.

On Wednesday, the county Board of Supervisors approved a resolution to purchase 175 new beds for the county nursing home. The beds are being replaced at a cost of $180,315 because they are not in compliance with federal safety standards established to prevent entrapment.

Ken Prestidge, director of environmental services at Countryside, said there are seven different potential entrapment spots on beds, and the nursing homes beds all have the seven entrapment areas.

Prestidge said many of the facility's beds are 40 years old and have been modified over the years. He said many of them were built to be used with a specific mattress, and the replacement mattresses have left areas where the residents can slip between the mattresses and the side rails or even get caught in the rails.

Some of the beds are hand-crank models, while others are electric. There are 12 different brands of beds in use at the facility, many of them made by companies that have been out of business for years, making it impossible to get new parts, according to Prestidge.

The first shipment of new beds is expected to arrive on Dec. 23.

Kurt Apthorpe, Countryside administrator, said the beds will arrive in groups of 20.

"This is like Christmas for me. I am overjoyed to be able to provide our residents with new beds that are safe and that will give them more independence and a better quality of life," Prestidge said.

Apthorpe said the old beds that are functional will be given to people who need them.

Masonville Supervisor Jack Thomas said the beds would be disposed of as they are replaced, so they will become available over the next few months.

Apthorpe said that because the beds are county property, they cannot be given directly to residents, so people who are interested in obtaining a bed must contact their town or village government officials, area fire departments or a veterans agency. He said that in addition to the beds, the county is also giving away old wheelchairs and walkers.

"State and county law does not allow us to give the items to individuals or private entities, but we encourage people to contact the proper officials if they are in need," Apthorpe said.

The items will be given as is, and the county will not be responsible for equipment breakdown. The beds do not come with mattresses, Apthorpe said.

Prestidge said only about 50 percent of the old beds are usable. Those that aren't given away will be scrapped.

The cost of purchasing the new beds is 100 percent reimbursable through state, federal and private funds, according to Apthorpe.

Agencies that receive requests for beds should call Prestidge at 746-2331 to sign up for the beds.

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Patricia Breakey can be reached at (607) 746-2894 or at stardelhi@stny.rr.com