Fulton County Board – Ad-HOC Health Committee Meeting Minutes
Committee: AD-HOC Health meeting
Meeting Place: Fulton County Board office, 257 West Lincoln Street, Lewistown, IL
Time: 5:30pm
Date: May 16, 2023
Conference Call-in Information
425-436-6333
Access Code: 3726216
1. Call to Order
Time: 5:33pm
Members:
James Barclay (present/xxxxxx)
Barry Beck (present/xxxxxx)
Laura Kessel (present/xxxxxx)
Dan Kumer (present/xxxxxx)
Brian Platt (present/xxxxxx)
Lisa Thompson (present/xxxxxx)
John Spangler (present/xxxxxx)
OTHER BOARD MEMBERS: None
ELECTED & APPOINTED OFFICIALS: Tammie Denning – Clayberg Administrator
STAFF: Cindy Simpson – Fulton County Board Administrative Assistant, Diana Keime – Clayberg Office Manager
GUEST(S) –
2. Roll Call
Roll call was taken, quorum was present
3. Call for Additions/Deletions To and Approval of the Meeting Agenda
Member Kessel moved to approve the agenda with a second from Member Thompson. Motion carried by voice vote with all voting ayes.
4. Announcements, Communications and Correspondence – None
5. Public Remarks – None
6. Misc.
a. Discussion/Action: Investigate management options for the Clayberg
Member Spangler discussed the health care industry has changed and running and operating a nursing home is beyond the scope of the county. There are two options: the county can hire a group to manage the nursing home or sell the nursing home to have a company who will continue the nursing home operation. Chairman Spangler discussed any persons or companies interested in managing or purchasing the Clayberg would need to complete an RFP.
Heritage Operating Group Steve Hart, Director of Operations, discussed Heritage operations. Heritage currently has 9 nursing homes it manages for entities. Heritage manages many non-profit nursing homes and county owned nursing homes, all the nursing homes have boards that Heritage is accountable and reports to. Heritage manages 10 assisted living facilities. Heritage has a Human Resources department that deals with personnel issues, accounts receivable and payable, and Heritage bills all claims to insurance and Medicare. Currently Heritage is repositioning themselves after Covid and Heritage is striving for data driven decision. Heritage is moving toward very specific labor budgets and have fair labor budgets in real time. Another change is any processes or repetitive process is something the facility manager will not be doing. They use different data tools to complete these process and procedures. Heritage is looking to make work life balances an easier process. Heritage is working to reduce waste and each dollar spent the county gets the value with no sacrifice to the care given to residents. A turnaround plan is being used, how to improve revenue, the occupancy of the facility, and reduced expense. Heritage would have a director of operations for the nursing home and this person would be a trusted advisor and would work closely with the county’s administrator of the nursing home. The operations person would visit the nursing home several times a month to check on progress. The census of residents is tracked and is very important and this is what makes or breaks the profit margin.
Each facility accounts for current level of spending monthly and for the yearly budget.
Reba Ford inquired what part of the management team and existing positions would Heritage be eliminating.
Steve Hart stated every core function would still be part of the nursing home. Heritage is looking to do centralized billing each month and possible case management for authorizations and remove back office process.
Reba inquired of any of the county owned nursing home Heritage oversees, how many do they operate under a union or labor contract for any of the staff.
Steve Hart stated currently none of the managed facilities have unions, but Heritage is not against having union labor.
Member Spangler questioned if the committee wanted to pursue a management or a Broker company. The committee agreed they would like options on both the management and brokers.
b. Discussion/Action: Review RFP for Broker
Member Platt stated more information needs to be gathered on both the broker and management company. Member Platt suggested the committee needs to choose a broker and management company and take both options to the board for a decision.
Member Kessel suggested combining the broker and management company into one RFP.
Chairman Spangler stated he will work with County Clerk O’Brian on the RFPs.
Member Kumer stated the RFP for broker and management is unnecessary and a waste of time for the county to pursue. Member Kumer stated the presentation just showed staff being cut or eliminated. If the nursing home is sold the quality of care will go down and in one year the nursing home would be closed and jobs lost. The Clayberg property was donated by the Clayberg family for a war veteran that is still missing in action.
Member Thompson stated the county needs the expertise of a company to do the work at the Clayberg.
Member Kessel stated to members of the public this presentation is an option and the committee needs more information before a decision can be made.
Chairman Spangler stated the county has no intention of closing the Clayberg. The county is trying to find the best solution for operating the Clayberg. The goal of the county is to make the Clayberg a better place to work for employees and to live for residents.
7. Adjournment
Time: 6:20pm
Member Beck moved to adjourn at 6:20pm with a second from Member Platt. Motion carried by voice vote with all voting ayes.
