Committee votes to send nursing-home scheduler position to salary and labor after lengthy debate

The LaSalle County Nursing Home NVAC committee voted July 14 to forward a proposal to create a dedicated scheduler/receptionist position for the facility to the countysalary-and-labor committee for final review. The committee action moves a staffing request that would separate previously combined roles scheduling, psychosocial coordination and resident transport into discrete positions. The request matters because committee members said the nursing home must meet daily staffing ratios and maintain regulatory records; supporters said a single employee performing multiple duties had become a risk to operations. "The schedule is a living, breathing animal," Carla Hanlon, director of nursing, told the committee while describing daily scheduling, mandation logs and census reports. Hanlon said the current workload includes producing four-week schedules, tracking call-offs, running a mandation list for overtime offers, maintaining a mandation log and daily census sheets, creating floor plans and coordinating contract nurses and transports. She said the role requires continuous attention: "I spend a lot of time and a lot of follow-up, that doesn't have to do with auditing and focusing on the nursing home, which is my job." Members asked whether the new role should be full-time, part-time, union or nonunion and whether the countybudget already covers the cost. Committee members debated hours and pay. Supporters said the work regularly consumes multiple hours per day and that separating duties reduces survey and operational risk. Skeptics said a smaller, part-time position might be sufficient and cautioned it could be hard to recruit quality candidates for a low-hours, no-benefits job. The committee recorded a motion to forward the scheduler position to salary and labor; Bill Brown moved the motion and Doug Stackley seconded. Members discussed and the committee voted to forward the proposal for salary-and-labor review for final approval and classification. The committee did not set a final hourly rate; finance and salary-and-labor review were asked to recommend pay and classification. The committee noted timing pressure: the existing staff member in the combined role will retire in two weeks and the facility is in an open state survey window, which committee members said increases urgency for a staffing plan. Hanlon said the nursing-home budget includes funds from a previously authorized posting that could cover a scheduler position pending salary-and-labor approval.