Today's News-Gazette has another article on the County's effort to get the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board to make an exception to their well publicized rules regarding altering our obligated amount on the new nursing home. Our attorney, who is supposed to be an expert on this subject, claims that the County couldn't file the alteration request until they had final costs on the HVAC improvements.
First, that's just not true. The County could have filed an alteration request with the estimates they were provided by our consultants who were hired in April and who gave us reasonable numbers in June. We could have filed with the high end numbers and then been pleasantly surprised if it came in less. The rules of the board clearly anticipate that these numbers are sometimes estimates.
Second, and most importantly, the HFPB rules clearly state that we can't proceed with the project alteration without their approval. That is under both the old and the new rules. Our attorney doesn't know this?
This outfit did an awful job of handling our litigation over the mold, and they are surpassing that pitiful effort with their work here. With any luck, the HFPB will let us off the hook. But it will be despite the efforts of our attorney, not because of them.
Looks like the new Nursing Home will be put into use next year if we are really lucky!!!!
is the new facility going to bring the operation into profitability?
Profitable? Even with no depreciation, no interest cost on the new building, and a subsidy for employment taxes, I don't know that anyone is saying that they actually expect the nursing home to make a profit.
Ford county was losing nearly as much on their nursing home, it almost bankrupt the county before they leased it out to a management company.
This isn't Ford County/ Nothing is rea;ly comparable.
When you are talking about losing tens of thousands of dollars a month it becomes comparable. Check the bond issues and budget transfers for 2006, we are really talking millions! It has/will affect every other county service. I'm sorry but, it looks like Champaign County is not very good at running a Nursing Home!
Ralph,
I respectfully disagree. How can you vote on the budget ammendments and transfers that we have and not understand that that operation is bleeding this county to death. I agree there is very little comparable between Ford and Champaign counties, but the nursing home situation is very comparable....losing money is losing money no matter how you cut it.
The notion that this is going to go away when we move in to the new building is also smoke and mirrors. A new building just doesn't solve this problem alone. I also think it disingenuous to tell the public that this will solve the problem but that is what the board has decided to do so far.
We also shouldn't forget that without the operational tax that was passed at the same time as the building referendum, the deficit at this operation is actually closer to 2 million annually. How can anyone justify this? This operation needs to become self sufficient without additional assistance from general corp, or we must find another resolution.
Ron,
Ron - The new nursing home will be more efficient, will earn increased payments from medicare and medicade and will yield economies of scale with its larger patient population. Management has not told us that this alone will end our financial problems. They have informed us, however, that opening the new home will reduce the deficit so that the budget can be balanced with sensible oerational changes. Closing child day care already has already eliminated a significant loss. Additional suggestiions are on the table and the new board certainly will take them up.
Ralph I certainly hope you are correct, Champaign County already has budgetary distress because of the drain of the Nurshing Home operation. Could you give details of how the new Nursing Home will earn/save $2500.00+ a day?