Commissioners today approved a resolution supporting the sale of the former Halifax Home Health and Hospice to Liberty Home Care VI.
County Health Director Bruce Robistow said following this morning’s board meeting the Wilmington-based company owns Liberty Commons in Weldon as well as other facilities.
The purchase will be effective Wednesday, he said. “I am happy with the way things went.”
The resolution the board approved describes Liberty as “an experienced health and hospice provider.”
County Attorney Glynn Rollins told the board the county has been working on the sale of the agency since April. The $350,000 sale does not include personal or real property, only the purchase of licenses and permits.
The county will set aside $50,000 for claims which might be filed, Rollins told the board. That will be for a 24-month period and $25,000 will be deposited into the county’s general fund if no claims are filed.
Three agency employees went to work for Liberty, Robistow said, while some came to work for the county and some took jobs in the private sector. “I’m very happy the way it worked out,” he told the board.
He said the consultant which helped the county sell the agency told him it was the 26th sale of which they were involved. “It was an incredible process. It just went really, really well.”
Liberty will lease two offices from the county for the operation at hospice’s location on the campus of Halifax Regional Medical Center, Rollins said.
The county can continue to use the remainder of the building, Robistow said. “I think we’ve found a great partner to provide the care we’ve always provided.”
County Manager Tony Brown said, “The staff worked together. I think all the staff received what they were supposed to receive.”
Board Chair Vernon Bryant said of the staff which worked on the sale, “The reason it happened so quickly was because of your hard work.”
Rollins noted Liberty must provide to the county yearly reports on the services they provide.
Brown said during a board meeting in May when the agency began more than 40 years ago, there were no others providing these services for the community.
Over the last 20 years, however, he said there has been tremendous growth in outside organizations providing these services in a more competitive fashion without the required governmental burdens placed on county employees.
