Freeport Nursing LLC reports renovations, centralized referral system and two IDPH complaints with no findings

Freeport Nursing LLC reported to the committee that facility renovations are underway, a centralized electronic referral system has been implemented and produced 18 referrals and two admissions in nine days, and that two complaints investigated by the Illinois Department of Public Health resulted in no findings.

Scott, a representative of Freeport Nursing LLC, said, "everything's going very, very well," and described a refurbishment that began the previous Saturday. He said work currently includes painting resident rooms and will extend to flooring, ceilings, lights, replacement of problematic dining-room windows and upgrades toward the reception area so "all areas can be redone as well." Scott added that photos from the company's Lincolnshire community show the intended appearance for the renovations.

Scott said the facility migrated to a centralized electronic referral system (referred to in the meeting as an EXECARE system) that funnels referrals through a centralized hub. He told the committee the center received 18 referrals in the prior nine days and admitted two patients in that period; the two admitted patients were described as covered by "managed care." Scott explained several referrals are being denied automatically by the intake system for reasons including registrant status (transcribed as "registered *** offender") and active IV drug use, and that gaps in insurance contracts with some managed-care plans also limit admissions. He said Freeport has completed some "one-off" admissions with insurers when possible and is working to expand contracts.

Scott reported that the facility had two complaints related to the same resident; the situation involved family disagreements and an unresponsive resident near end of life. He said the Illinois Department of Public Health inspected twice and "both situations, they said there's no findings." Scott also reported a staff survey showing a 4.83 out of 5 satisfaction rating with the new ownership group's transition.

Committee members asked clarifying questions about the referral-to-admission ratio, payer sources for the two admissions, details of the remodeling and the IDPH visits. Scott invited committee members and the public to visit the facility and said an open house will be scheduled after construction is complete. The report did not include any committee action items requiring a vote; it was presented as an operational update.