DeKalb County Nursing Home Foundation met March 17.
Here are the minutes provided by the foundation:
Members present: Bob Higdon, Lorrie Wildenradt, Carol Sherman, Mary Pritchard, Carol Evans, Steve Lux, Judy Royer, Toni Krull
Also present: John Frieders, Brian Gregory, Maggie Niemi
Judy Royer called the meeting to order at 12:00 noon.
Minutes: Mary Pritchard moved to approve the 12/16/21 minutes. Steve Lux seconded. The motion carried.
Treasurer’s report: As of 3/15/22 the balances were: Resource Bank investment account $540,125.00, D.C.C.F. endowment fund $151,129.57, and Resource Bank checking account $15,945.30. Toni Krull moved to accept the report. Judy Royer seconded. The motion carried.
Old business:
The solicitation mailer was sent to 160 individuals and got the same return as previous years when approximately 1,200 letters were mailed.
New business: Steve Lux will take care of updating the DCNHF page for the DeKalb County Foundation’s Give Dekalb event.
Maggie Niemi will present a wish list at the next meeting.
John Frieders, Dekalb County Board Chair and Brian Gregory, Dekalb County Administrator updated board members on the Dekalb County Nursing Home financial situation. The County Home as of March 2021 had no cash availability and received a $2,000,000 loan from the DeKalb County Board. Several reasons are the cause. To break even there need to be an occupancy of 175 beds, today it is 125; the decline started in 2017. Covid exacerbated the situation requiring increased agency staffing, which is more expensive than permanent personnel. The management company incorrectly/ late filed claims, thus many receivables are uncollectible, the cause seems to be the new software system incorrect implementation. The amount of Medicaid receivables is $1,800,000 which the State has not paid due to incorrect or late filing. The County is working with the State legislature to see if part of it can be recuperated. To date the County has given $6,900,000.
Mr. Frieders and Mr. Gregory stated MPA, the management company, which has since been released, was retained for 24 years with little oversight on the business side and functioning under the original contract. Management companies’ contracts should be reviewed every four years. The Operating Board has been dissolved and Maggie Niemi reports directly to the DeKalb County Board, which has oversight over the finances. The County does not purchase insurance but self‐insure.
The options for the future of the County Home are: sale, leasing, managing, or closure (not likely). The County Board will do a due diligence in vetting potential buyers.
The Dekalb County Home is one of the few in the State owned by the County. The Home was built with public money, and not by referendum, thus the final decision can be made by the County Board without public referendum. A company has been hired to evaluate receivables and assets. The final decision will be made in the next 6‐8 weeks.
Maggie Niemi reported there has been growing interest in the transitional care unit.
Members questioned the future of the DeKalb County Nursing Home Foundation. Mr. Frieders will check with the State Attorney’s office and keep us informed. Judy Royer will contact Mr. Frieders and Gregory for updates prior to future meetings.
Maggie Niemi will send her complete wish list by email and board members will vote on it. Mary Pritchard moved to allow the purchase – for now ‐ of 20 white board and 20 blood pressure cups. Lorrie Wildenradt seconded. The motion carried.
Lorrie Wildenradt moved to designate $400 in staff appreciation. Steve Lux seconded. The motion carried.
Carol Evans moved to adjourn. Mary Pritchard seconded. The meeting was adjourned at 1:35 p.m.
https://dekalbcounty.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/minutes-nhf-03172022.pdf
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