Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Pineview Move From Gurdon Draws Battle In Early 1996

Absentee owners wanting to move the Pineview Nursing Home to Arkadelphia led to a heated battle in Gurdon in 1996, making it one of the top stories in the region.

The owners had announced their intentions to move the facility so they could have more beds, but the residents of Gurdon voiced their opposition because a move would mean the city could not have another nursing home again.

In April, the Gurdon City Council discussed the matter at its regular meeting, with attorney Rick Donovan, of the Rose Law Firm of Little Rock.

Donovan was the attorney representing Beverly Enterprises, a nursing home conglomerate. He said it was important for Pineview to stay in Gurdon so the citizens could keep their loved ones nearby.

He added several nursing homes already existed in Arkadelphia and another one would only take beds from those already there.

Eddie Arnold, one of the owners of Pineview, was present at the meeting, but declined to make comment about the facility's moving.

Donovan urged the people of Gurdon to protest the move, because the Arkansas Health Service Commission, he said, "rubber stamps" such requests unless they are opposed by the people.

The attorney pointed out a law stating a nursing home could add up to 12 extra beds if it moves within the county. He said the Pineview owners want to maximize their profits by moving and adding the beds.

The battle were lines drawn concerning the move. The owners were saying nothing, while the residents were up in arms vehemently opposed to the idea of a move.

The Golden Age Club entered the foray, circulating petitions to get signatures of those wanting Pineview to stay in Gurdon.

Seventeen residents garnered more than 1,000 signatures which were presented to the Arkansas Health Services Commission letting the commissioners know their position on the issue.

Regardless, the panel granted the owners of Pineview permission to move if they so desired.

Helen Tarpley, a member of the Golden Age Club, said Arnold and the other owners were in for a fight.

It was pointed out if Pineview moves Gurdon will lose more than 50 jobs.

Tarpley told the commission the Golden Age Club and Gurdon Chamber of Commerce had originally worked to raise the money to buy the land where Pineview is.

At the time, Tarpley said, more than 50 area women took courses to become nurses aides so they could help work in the center.

Gib Cole, pastor of Gurdon's First Baptist Church, asked Arnold what it would take to keep the facility in Gurdon. He was reportedly told a doctor would be required.

As 1996 drew to a close, there were organizations working to get a physician to locate in Gurdon.

A date was set by the commission to hear Gurdon's appeal of the panel's decision to allow the move.

Citizens gathered in the Gurdon Middle School auditorium to discuss the strategy they would employ to get the decision reversed.

Donovan said the owners stated one of their primary reasons for moving is because of the medical climate in Gurdon.

The owners, he said, state their clients need to be closer to medical services because they are a vulnerable population.

Plans were made to obtain charter buses for those going to Little Rock to face the commission.

However, despite two bus loads of Gurdon residents filling the halls in Little Rock, the commission upheld its prior decision and allowed the owners the right to move if they so choose.

Donovan called the decision a "bad deal" for all involved. He said Beverly Enterprises would file suit in the Pulaski County Circuit Court against the commission.

This suit, he said, is a delaying tactic to prevent the owners from being allowed to move. If necessary, he added, the case could be taken to the Arkansas Supreme Court.

By keeping the matter tied up in court, he said, the move can be delayed.

According to Donovan, the Pineview owners could proceed with the move at their own risk while the suit is pending.

However, if the suit is successful when it finally is heard, and the owners have moved the facility, they will still be responsible for making payments on the $1.5 million structure in Arkadelphia and be required to return to Gurdon.