Senate Okays Ithaca College - Longview Bill

The state senate gave final legislative approval to a bill that would permit Ithaca College and Longview residential senior community to build a joint residential health care facility. Senate bill 126-A is sponsored by Senator Seward and Assemblywoman Barbara Lifton in the assembly.

"This is a good fit for Ithaca College and Longview," Senator Seward said. "Ithaca has a formal program in gerontology and they together have a well-established relationship. The project would offer a model of an inter-generational lifestyle where students, faculty and residents benefit."

The bill authorizes the commissioner of health to approve a college-linked senior living community project that would develop and evaluate a new model of providing inter-generational long-term care services. The community project would offer senior independent living apartments, an adult care facility, and a residential health care facility. It would function under all of the regulations of the state Public Health Law.

"We’re going to see a jump in the number of older adults in our country, and new models of providing long term care need to be developed and studied. The legislation puts Ithaca College and Longview on the forward edge of the development of future long term care initiatives."

The bill now goes to the governor.

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