Castiglione Nursing Home Debate: Public, Private, or Both?

The private nursing home in Castiglione delle Stiviere could be established alongside a public one. This is the fact—according to some, not entirely reassuring—that emerged from the meeting held just before the end of the year between the proponents of the new private facility and the city council leaders, together with the municipal administration and the mayor of Castiglione.

During that meeting, the municipal administration first presented the content of an appraisal report prepared by an expert specialized in retirement homes, before illustrating the private project’s details.

This study, commissioned by the administration itself, contains data and cost estimates for two types of interventions: the first concerns the minimum necessary upgrades for accreditation of Zanetti Cominelli, valid until 2003; the second hypothesizes the construction of a new nursing home in the area deemed suitable by the administration, specifically in the area of the former Bersaglio.

Comments and proposals on the construction of the nursing home

Probably referring to this hypothesis, Mayor Sigurtà commented on the private developers’ proposal, saying that for Castiglione, even three nursing homes would not be excessive.

However, this position does not sit well with Giovanni Saviola, head of the DS group in the city council, who, without going into details, urges the administration to consider alternative routes: “The subject of the nursing home – Saviola said – after the numerous polemics of recent months, must be handled with the utmost care.

I believe that the study commissioned by the administration, which has not yet been made available to the councilors, hypothesizes the construction of a new facility, but does not yield a positive outlook.

I therefore think that, while encouraging private investment, it is not appropriate to build a public facility in parallel, which would inevitably compete with the private sector.

Instead, this situation could have very positive outcomes if the administration considered how to combine public and private resources to create a single structure.”