LaSalle County nursing home faces therapy contractor exit, approves new medical director and requests dedicated scheduler

LaSalle County nursing home administrators told the county committee Sept. 11 that Aegis Therapy Company has given notice and will end its contract Oct. 30 because the company cannot staff the facility's therapy needs. Britney, the nursing home finance officer, told the committee that if the facility loses its therapy contractor it "cannot take anybody that's coming from a hospital and wanting to do a skilled stay," a change that would affect Medicare Part A admissions and related revenue. Meeting materials included a therapy bid packet and county attorneys had reviewed procurement language; staff said they would post and accept bids for a replacement provider. The committee was told the nursing home currently has 12 residents receiving therapy under Medicare Part B and that losing on‑site therapy would disrupt care for those residents as well as prevent the facility from accepting new skilled admissions from hospitals. The committee approved a resolution to name a new medical director and forward the resolution to the full county board. The resolution names Dr. Maguire (associated with the T4 practice) as the proposed medical director, with a contract described in meeting materials at $5,000 per month and an intended start date of Dec. 1. The committee voted by roll call to forward the resolution to the board: Kathy Owens, Doug Stockley, Matt Slager, William Brown and Nancy Urich voted in favor; Ron Blue voted no. The committee chair also voted in favor, making the recorded tally 6–1 in favor of forwarding the appointment to the full board. Separately, nursing home management reported multiple operational issues and regulatory work. The director reported that state survey tags were issued in areas including resident privacy, care‑plan timing, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, nutrition and infection prevention; the nursing home said it has prepared plans of correction that have been submitted to and approved by IDPH (Illinois Department of Public Health). Staffing and scheduling drew sustained attention. Management presented a breakdown showing that two full‑time administrative employees plus the director were spending the equivalent of roughly 33.5 to 40 hours per week beyond their regular duties to build and manage the staffing schedule; the director recommended hiring a part‑time scheduler (about 30 hours per week) to reduce the burden on existing staff and to address frequent call‑offs and coverage gaps. Committee members asked to visit the facility for a walk‑through before a formal hiring decision; the director said the item would appear on next month's agenda for fuller discussion. Other operational updates included: a restorative garden completed for the season; six resident falls in August (one resulted in a minor injury); one staff injury reported; ongoing work to replace worn wheelchair cushions; and hospice and respite coordination with local providers. The committee also approved a resolution to allow Partners for Hope to provide in‑person psychiatry services beginning Sept. 15; Partners for Hope will provide on‑site psychiatry alongside existing telehealth options and requires no county payment for the service. On budget lines tied to operations, staff said contract nursing costs have recently run high (about $90,000 per month for contracted nurses in recent months) and asked the committee to consider raising the "extra help"/PRN funding allocation to cover continued use of contract staff while recruitment continues; staff proposed raising the line to about $450,000 for the coming year. The committee did not set final appropriations for those lines at the meeting but instructed staff to present the amended figures to finance.