SYCAMORE - The DeKalb County Rehabilitation and Nursing Center is officially for sale, and county officials said Wednesday the struggling facility is actively being marketed, although the earliest the board could decide on a sale is June 15.
The mood at Wednesday’s DeKalb County Board Committee of the Whole meeting in Sycamore was noticeably different than previous meetings, where board members fielded strong response from employees of the county-owned nursing home amid a months-long debate about the future of the facility. The nursing facility faces millions in debt caused by what officials have said was years of mismanagement, delinquent billing, falling resident numbers and too heavy a reliance of agency-staffed workers who get paid more than county employees.
On Wednesday, nursing home administrator Maggie Niemi opened with a word of thanks, marking National Nurses Week and Nursing Home Week by thanking her staff and county officials.
Unlike previous meetings, no other employees or nursing home residents spoke.
Niemi again appealed to the board’s Committee of the Whole to help keep the facility as a not-for-profit, and outlined what she called the center’s strengths and ratings levels.
“While we understand that the County Board members, county administrator, board chair were not here during the time or did not know of issues that were occurring, and we cannot hold you accountable,” Niemi said. “And we’re asking for everyone here tonight to not hold us accountable for the previous mistakes of former employees and the former management company.”
According to Medicaire.gov, DeKalb County Rehab and Nursing Center is ranked with three out of five stars. Oak Crest DeKalb Area Retirement Center is ranked with five stars, and Prairie Crossing Living and Rehabilitation in Shabbona is ranked with four stars. The rating levels are based on health inspections, staffing and quality of resident care, including for short or longterm residents.
County officials reiterated a sale of the facility would not mean resident care, which they touted as high, would falter under new ownership.
The facility has been listed for sale and is being actively marketed by nursing home financial consultant Marcus & Millichap, hired by the county in February for $10,000, according to county documents. However, no final decisions on a sale will be made until at least the June 15 county board meeting.
For about a year, county officials have fielded near-monthly budget deficits from the facility, which faced a $7.4 million budget hole. According to county documents and testimony, the shortfall is due to issues that include delinquent billing dating back to 2017, dwindling resident numbers and what employees allege was yearslong mismanagement of the facility.
For the past 24 years up until Dec. 31, the nursing center was run by St. Louis-based Management Performance Associates, a firm that was under county contract. The firm, responsible for overseeing daily operations and creating the facility’s annual budget for County Board approval, declined to renew its contract in December.
To offset budget shortfalls needed to make payroll and other obligations for the nursing home, the county spent the past year pulling money from funds such as its special projects funds.
“The future’s what we’re worried about, and if we can’t cut the expenses, nothing going to help it,” County Board Chairman John Frieders said, emphasizing that the quality of care should remain at the facility but cost less.
Billing and revenue flow has improved since the board convened last month, confirmed Niemi and county officials. Although some county officials - including Scott Campbell, who’s heading up the board’s Finance Committee’s internal review of the facility’s budget - cautioned that it’s too early to say whether that upwards trajectory will sway a sale of the facility.
Neimi, hired Oct. 1, 2021, said the facility began billing with a new service in January and had to catch up from neglected billing from August 2021 through December.
“We were able to bill in January for claims that had been submitted between August and December,” Niemi said. “And they weren’t done properly so we resubmitted it properly. So we’ve been successful in billing and building back our business department, and we feel we are successful in putting finance first.”
Niemi said it’s the facility’s mission to become financially self-sufficient again.
The 24-hour care facility provides specialized services for its residents that include medication, special diets, mobility assistance through ambulation services, therapeutic services and a 38-bed dementia unit, among other care, Niemi said. As of Wednesday, there are 126 beds filled.
Frieders reiterated that the issues at hand aren’t related to quality of care in the facility, but budgets that don’t align with money in the bank.
That cashflow could be improving however, said DeKalb County Administrator Brian Gregory, who said he had good news to share. According to financial records presented to the board Wednesday, as of April 30, billing improvements were reflected in the nursing center’s ability to make its own payroll.
“In April, we did receive more cash than anticipated,” Gregory said. “We thought there’d be over half a million dollars needed, that was not the case when cashflow came in. No cashflow assistance was needed.”
The budgets aren’t yet balanced, however.
“It’s hard. These people do a tremendous job,” said board member Jerry Osland, referring to the center’s employees. “But still it’s a business. It’s money. It’s cash.”
Since last month, the County Board’s Finance Committee has begun an internal review of the rehab and nursing center’s budget, headed up by Campbell, who proposed the idea. Campbell said he expects to provide the board with a budget report in June.
“If we continue with the cost structure we have, and this is not a secret ... if we don’t cut costs, then we’ll continue to bleed, and revenue won’t catch up to it,” Campbell said. “But I can tell you that the revenue stream has improved. [...] Receivables are getting better. Collections are getting better. We fixed the underlying management problem with MPA. So there is hope.”