DeKalb Times

DeKalb County Rehab & Nursing Center Oversight Board met Aug. 27.

Here are the minutes provided by the board:

A Regular meeting of the Members of the DeKalb County Rehab & Nursing Center Oversight Board (hereinafter “Oversight Board”) was held Tuesday, August 27, 2024, at 6:00 p.m. in the Multi Purpose Room in DeKalb, Illinois pursuant to written notice to each Member as required by the By Laws.

ROLL CALL

Chair Anna Wilhelmi called the meeting to order at 6:05 p.m. and called the roll. Those Members present were Abdul “Brother” El-Jamal, Mary Hatch, Rhonda Henke, Jerry Osland, and Kay Riley. A quorum was established with six Members present, three absent.

Others that were present included: DCRNC Administrator Bart Becker, County Board Chair Ellingsworth Webb and Board Secretary Liam Sullivan.

APPROVAL OF AGENDA

It was moved by Henke to approve the agenda as presented, seconded by Riley and approved unanimously by voice vote.

APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES

It was moved by Riley and seconded by Hatch to approve the minutes of the July 27, 2024 Meeting of the DCRNC Oversight Board.

PUBLIC COMMENTS

Red Peterson, the DCRNC’s newly hired Community Liaison introduced herself to the Oversight Board and showed the Oversight Board a video compilation of the Grand Opening Event for the TCU that took place on August 15th.

PRESENTATIONS/DISCUSSIONS

DCRNC Administrator’s Report

DCRNC Administrator Bart Becker stated that the Facility’s use of agency has stabilized over the past several months. He stated that the current ratio of Agency staffing accounts for three percent of total nursing hours and the monthly cost is ranging between $68,000 to $71,000 per month, which is down significantly from FY2023. Additionally, the current staffing ratio is well below the goal from the original Jordan Plan of less than 5% agency usage.

Additionally, Becker reviewed the following report, as well as providing an overview of the current census mix and trends so far in 2024: https://dekalbcounty.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/fn rpt24jul-dcrnc.pdf

Becker explained that the DCRNC is currently going through the credentialling process with the Illinois Aging Services Network so that the facility can begin receiving Insurance provider agreements. Additionally, he explained that County Officials took part in a preliminary meeting with the Illinois Association of County Board Members to form a Nursing Home Committee that will be composed of members of all of the publicly-owned nursing homes in the state. During this preliminary meeting, the group discussed their respective facilities, current challenges, needs, and goals for the Committee.

Next, Becker explained that the County’s painter is taking a break from working at the nursing home now that one hallway is complete to work on other County facilities. Also, the DCRNC will also be holding a public bid opening on August 30th at 10:30am for the Billing and Consulting Services RFP.

Becker then asked Sullivan to provide an update on the revisions to the Jordan Plan. Riley explained that she had put together a forecast that was left off the current meeting’s agenda to avoid the possible confusion with the pending revisions to the Jordan plan. She stated that she agreed to leave it off the agenda until she has a chance to review the upcoming Jordan Plan.

Sullivan explained that staff has been working with Jordan Healthcare group to revise the plan with emphasis on having an attainable census with a focus on the payer mix. He explained that similar to the previous rendition, the plan is built on assumptions but will be less aggressive on the census growth. He also explained that due to the CEA reimbursement rate being based on cost figures with a two-year lag, the reimbursement rate does not keep up with current costs, with the current CEA rate being based on 2022 costs. He explained that in the short term, it makes it more difficult due to the substantial increase in staffing costs that were part of the Jordan plan but the facility will be in a much better position in future years when pay rate increases are lower and the CEA rate is based on the years with large cost increases.

Osland stated that previously the DCRNC was losing an average approximately of $280,000 per month. Sullivan explained that based on the modified accrual model that staff put together for the DCRNC quarterly report, the DCRNC has only lost approximately $250,000 through the first six months of 2024. Sullivan explained that Becker and the staff of the DCRNC deserve a lot of credit for being able to reduce costs. Sullivan explained that the modified accrual model is not reflective of the cash on hand due to the several month lag in collections but does provide a preview of what we can expect to see at the end of the year once the number are audited.

Osland stated that the DCRNC was previously making money and asked Becker how much money the facility was making. Sullivan stated that he does not have an exact figure and will need to look at previous audits but it was enough to gradually grow the fund balance. He explained that tipping point began with the expansion project and that the additional of the recurring debt service payment of $660,000 a year really put a strain on the DCRNC’s finances.

Chair Wilhelmi asked for a timeline for when the painter will return to working at the DCRNC, emphasizing the importance of beautification projects at the DCRNC and asked if the Oversight Board members would be able to volunteer to come paint. Sullivan explained that he would have to check with AFSCME because the painter is a union position. Osland recalled that prior to hiring the painter, he visited the County’s Administration Building and found Sullivan and the previous County Administrator Brian Gregory painting the interior of the building. Sullivan explained that he and Gregory did in fact come in on their personal time during nights and weekends to paint portions of that building. Sullivan explained that the painter is part of the staff from Facilities Management Office’s staff rather than the DCRNC’s and that the County has a number of facilities that need attention. He stated that in order to be equitable, the painter will be addressing other needs in the County prior to returning to working at the DCRNC.

Additionally, Sullivan stated that staff will be bringing forward the FY2025 budget for the DCRNC, as well as proposals for liability insurance for the DCRNC.

Update from the Ad Hoc Advisory Committee

Vice-Chair Hatch provided the Oversight Board of a summary of the meeting of the newly formed Ad Hoc Advisory Committee’s first meeting. She explained that the Committee is focused on the revenue and financials of the DCRNC and that the Committee took part in an exercise were members of the Committee and Staff put together and presented lists of ideas for additional revenue generation. Following the meeting, staff compiled the lists and prioritized the items, having designated specific items as being within the scope of responsibility of staff, as well as items that members of the Committee can assist with.

Hatch overviewed serval items that were within the scope of the Committee including creating surveys, developing messaging for marketing, as well as developing a bid schedule for the DCRNC. Hatch asked Sullivan to elaborate on the bid schedule.

Sullivan explained that staff has asked for the assistance of the Ad Hoc Advisory Committee in reviewing the current contracts that the Nursing Home has in order to create a schedule for when those contracts need to be put out to bid. He went on to State that when he started with the County in February of 2022, the County did not have a procurement policy that matched State and Federal Law and that the County Board approved one at one of his first meetings. He explained that most contracts were not being put out to bid as required by the law prior to this, using the example of the DCRNC linen contract. He explained that after the contract was recently put out to bid, that the DCRNC is now saving approximately $6000 a week on that contract alone. Riley volunteered to assist with this project.

Sullivan went on to explain that staff prioritized the list based on what they felt were items that were low cost, both monetarily and in staff time, and would help create efficiencies with the DCRNC. Osland asked if the Committee working on these items would create issues with the DCRNC’s Union. Sullivan explained that the items that were designated as being within the scope of the Committee would not part of any formal duties of union staff and are currently items that staff are unable to fit in due to the current volume of work. Additionally, Sullivan explained that the contracts are all public documents and are able to analyzed by anyone who wishes to review them.

Hatch took the opportunity to state that she has been working closely with staff on creating an orientation presentation for the Oversight Board. She echoed Sullivan’s sentiment about the current work load that staff currently has. She addressed Chair Webb and the County Board Members on the Oversight Board to state that she is amazed at what the County is able to accomplish with an under resourced and undercompensated entity. She stated that staff is covering a lot of different positions and that she believes they are not being compensated properly for the work load and thanked them for their commitment. Osland explained that the process of working to overcome the challenges at the DCRNC has been difficult for those involved.

Sullivan explained that Becker, many of his staff members, and himself knew what they signed up for and that working with the nursing home with the current challenges would require a lot of commitment. He stated that a lot of the credit should be given to individuals like the previous County Administrator Brian Gregory who did not know about the challenges when he stepped into the role. Osland emphasized that Gregory inherited the challenges and Sullivan stated that Gregory discovered the issues two weeks after he began his role with the County. Sullivan again stated that many of the current staff know what they signed up for and are there to be public servants.

ACTION ITEMS

There were no Action Items.

CONSIDERATIONS

There were no items under Considerations

OLD BUSINESS

There were no Old Business items.

NEW BUSINESS

There were no New Business items.

ADJOURNMENT

A motion to adjourn was made by Osland at 7:16 PM, seconded by Riley, and approved by voice vote, with all votes cast in the affirmative.

https://dekalbcounty.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/minutes-rnc-08272024.pdf