A sale could fetch $16 million and stop the drain on finances, said county spokesman Ralph Shrom.
"From our perspective, everyone on this board was elected on a promise that they would reduce taxes . . . ," he said. "There's nothing that says counties have to run nursing homes."
Most of the nearly 400 people who attended a hearing on the proposed sale last week vehemently disagreed. Their emotional pleas to "save Buttonwood" had overtones of the national debate over government's role in helping those who need care.
"Buttonwood was instructed by the county for many, many years to take in people who have no place to go," said Ken Goldstein, a former medical director at Buttonwood for 20 years. "Sometimes, they are living in filth at home, and there is nowhere for the patient to go." He described it as a "safety net" that should not be sacrificed.
Ruth Stotsenburg, president of the county chapter of the National Alliance for Mental Illness, worried that if the hospital were privatized, "the county will no longer have any control" over the care. Medicare has rated Buttonwood a four-star facility for its health care and safety, with five stars being the highest a facility can receive.
Shrom confirmed the rating and said Buttonwood has had a good reputation.
The patients "think of us as family," said Christine Randolph, one of 319 hospital employees. "It breaks my heart that this is happening."
Many in the crowd at the Burlington County College cafeteria in Pemberton wore red T-shirts that said "People not Profits" and toted signs that said "Don't Sell Out Buttonwood." No one spoke in favor of a sale.
A second hearing is scheduled for 6 p.m. Tuesday at the freeholder meeting room at the county's Administration Building in Mount Holly.
