RFP: Management Services for The Nathaniel Witherell

Introduction

In March 2016, the Chairman of the BET established a Special Committee on The Nathaniel Witherell, with the task to "perform a broad and thorough review of the operations of The Nathaniel Witherell", which included a review of: 

  1. established operations and strategic plan;
  2. market competition;
  3. opportunities for the Town to expand its services; and
  4. operations for The Nathaniel Witherell's future direction.

The Committee prepared a Report of the Board of Estimate and Taxation Special Committee (2017 Report) on The Nathaniel Witherell that was delivered to the BET and made public in January 2018. The Committee concluded the Town should consider the following management/ownership structures for The Nathaniel Witherell:

  1. Maintain current TOG ownership and operation of TNW;
  2. Lease or sell TNW to a newly established 501(c)(3);
  3. Lease or sell TNW to an existing 501(c)(3);
  4. Lease or sell TNW to a for-profit manager;
  5. TOG to either reduce capacity or close the facility.

The 2017 Report recommended the Committee continue its work in tandem with the consultants Health Dimensions Group (HDG) to produce a Financial and Operating Report and PFK O'Connor Davies (PFK) to conduct a review of TNW's financial statements for the two fiscal years ending on June 30, 2018. 

The Committee summarized the status of the Committee's work and recommendations for moving forward in its 2019 Report and added one additional management/ownership structure recommendation to the 5 listed in 2017, "Establish a Trust to provide financial aid to seniors." 


Proposal Details

On October 29, 2020, the Town of Greenwich, through the First Selectman posted a Request for Proposal for "Management Services for The Nathaniel Witherell", based on the findings and recommendations of The Nathaniel Witherell Special Committee. The proposal stated that the Town is interested in considering a wide variety of contractual approaches or transactions to meet its objectives.  The Town's objectives are to achieve a high-quality level of care, to serve the interests of both the residents of The Nathaniel Witherell and residents of Greenwich, to achieve financial stability and independence of The Nathaniel Witherell, to bring to an end the need for the Town's General Fund to provide financial support to The Nathaniel Witherell, and to maximize the proceeds to the Town in a sale or lease transaction. The proposals were due back on December 15, 2020 and were then sent to an Evaluation Committee for recommendations going forward. 

Proposal Documents

Proposal Responses


Evaluation Committee Recommendations

The Town received 9 proposals by the deadline of December 15,2020. The Committee held approximately 40 meetings over the past year to conduct interviews with each respondent, collect additional data from respondents, and to allow for respondents to prepare final proposals for the Committee to evaluate. 

After conducting first-round interviews with the respondents, the Committee selected four firms that had scored well against the evaluation criteria and had expressed willingness to assume the operating and capital risks of a long-term lease to update their proposals:

After a week of review, the eight Committee members individually ranked the four final proposals, on a scale of 1 to 4, with the top-rank being 1. The top-ranked proposal was from Allaire, which received six 1s and two 2s. The weighted score was 1.25. The next highest ranked proposal received a weighted score of 2.5. The relative rankings remained unchanged after open discussion by the Committee.

The Committee recommends that the Office of the First Selectman seek to evaluate and negotiate a long-term lease agreement with Allaire Health Services and to obtain the required approvals of the TNW Board, the Board of Selectmen and the Representative Town Meeting. Allaire’s proposal meets the RFP’s objectives, and, subject to due diligence, believe that its successful track record of assuming operation of several county-owned facilities in New Jersey will position them to navigate successfully the required Town and State approvals and be an excellent partner for the Town over a long period of time. If the Town is not able to negotiate satisfactory terms with Allaire, the Committee also recommends negotiations with Center Management Group, the firm which submitted the second-ranked proposal.