Not for sale
Miracle Hill supporters make push to save nursing home’s legacy
Photo by St. Clair Murraine
Photo by St. Clair Murraine
By St. Clair Murraine
Outlook Staff Writer
Less than a week after an email began circulating with an appeal for financial assistance to save a 53-year-old nursing home, members of the Florida State Primitive Baptist Convention balked at the possibility of selling the property located in Griffin Heights.
Miracle Hill Nursing and Rehabilitation Center has been in recent financial straits, prompting the current appeal that supporters have labeled “a mighty call.” However, some current and former members of the Primitive Baptist Convention held a Saturday afternoon press conference to state their opposition to selling the nursing home.
They called on Roland Gaines, chairman of the Convention’s board of directors, for transparency into a proposed $12 million sale of the center. Elder Ernest Ferrell, who organized the press conference, also questioned a proposal to accept funding from Premier Group.
Gaines, who has borrowed huge sums to bail out the nursing home in the past, made a brief appearance at Miracle Hill, but left without making any statement. Efforts to reach Gaines Saturday afternoon were unsuccessful.
“There is a tremendous amount of history in this place,” said Ferrell, standing in the breezeway at the entrance to Miracle Hill where the press conference was held. “For Primitive Baptist, this is one of the most important piece of real estate that we own.”
Convention members who spoke said they found it troubling that the board has given approval for a promissory note on a $600,000 loan. About $200,000 of that amount was expected to be released earlier this week.
However, board member Terry Price and others questioned accepting money from Premier Group if it’s tied to sale of the property.
“As board members, what we have failed to do is to receive manageable reports we can see ourselves,” said a visibly frustrated Price. “Over the last years, we have just taken the information that was given to us and accepted that information.
“It’s time for new leadership. That where we are (and) that’s what’s needed for our convention.”
When Elder Moses Miles developed plans to build Miracle Hill in 1968 it was out of a need to provide a nursing home for Blacks who either weren’t allowed or couldn’t afford other facilities. It has since been home to several or prominent Blacks in Tallahassee.
Such a legacy is worth fighting for, said Rev. RB Holmes, who is assisting effort to right the center’s financial picture.
He is primarily concerned about “How Black folks lose too much of our land (and) lose too much of our legacy,” said Holmes, pastor at Bethel Missionary Baptist Church. “I’m standing here because Miracle Hill means so much to Black people, past present and future.
“We must save Miracle Hill. We don’t need to sell everything we own. If our fore-parents were able to build it for us we ought to be able to take it to the next level. I’m here to say that we must, we can and we shall save Miracle Hill and not sell Miracle Hill.”
At least four people, including Florida Primitive Baptist Association members Dilcy Hogan, shared stories about their family members living at Miracle Hill. Hogan told about a fund-raiser she led one of the times when funding was an issue.
His 86-year-old mother is a resident at Miracle Hill, said Al Dennis.
“This isn’t just where she lives,” he said. “This is her home. She calls it her home. And we’ve got concerns about taking away her home.
“My mom enjoys the healthcare. She enjoys the compassion. She enjoys the love and the care that she receives right here.”
Much of the financial plight of Miracle Hill was documented in a story published by the Tallahassee Democrat to mark the center’s 50th anniversary in 2019. Among the causes for the shortfall were fees owed to the Agency For Health Care Administration. Miracle Hill also was losing $30 per day for catering solely to people with Medicaid.
Elder Lee Harris, pastor at Mount Olive Primitive Baptist Church, was a board member for 12 years, servicing as chairman from 1981 to 1989.
“I’ve seen the changes and I’ve seen the tough times,” Harris said. “I believe that there is a great resilience in the body of Christ of the Florida State Primitive Baptist Convention. Let us do everything we can to make sure that this miracle on this hill continues.”
