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Stephenson County nursing center reports rising census, $1.1M in outstanding claims; billing vendor transition underway
Summary
The facility reported a census of 48, continued work to clean up accounts receivable with a new billing vendor, completion of an HVAC project and a recent water leak that did not affect residents. The committee voted to enter an executive session on employment matters.
The Stephenson County nursing facility reported a census of 48 and continued progress on several operational fronts during the committee meeting. Facility leadership said they are working with a new billing and revenue-cycle firm to clear a backlog of accounts and expected an accounts-receivable update next month.
Facility manager Marcos told the committee the census has trended up from the prior year and that marketing and referrals have increased, helping occupancy approach the 50-resident mark. "We've received referral after referral," Marcos said. He added that transition work with the new billing partner has produced weekly conference calls and that the vendor completed January billing; staff were working on February claims.
The committee heard that Quality Health Care Resources is handling revenue-cycle management and accounts-receivable cleanup in conjunction with MatrixCare. The vendor is based in New Jersey and will provide monthly reports to the committee and the county. The facility manager said AR cleanup is still in progress and that a more comprehensive report is expected in April.
County finance staff member Adrianne Wall emailed the committee’s revenue-and-expense report, and a committee member noted the county is carrying outstanding claims of "over 1,100,000" and a cash-flow shortage described in the meeting as "just shy of 1,100,000." The committee discussed that many of the outstanding dollars relate to county obligations such as IMRF and Social Security.
Infrastructure work at the facility was also discussed. The facility manager reported completion of a long-running HVAC project that had been budgeted in a previous year and said heating and cooling work across the building is finished. He also described a water main failure that occurred the previous week around 10:10–10:30 p.m.; staff and outside crews isolated the break, used in‑facility extraction equipment and reported that water did not reach resident living areas. An inspector was scheduled to visit to assess any damage.
On marketing and admissions, the manager said work to establish an agreement to accept U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs admissions is ongoing but slow. Jeanne Cross, the facility marketing director, and the manager had taken over communications with the VA from the former management company.
Committee members praised the facility staff and the new billing work. One committee member said, "Marcos, you're doing a great job. Appreciate it." Marcos told the board he had no concerns with the new vendor’s performance so far: "I have no concerns as far as that. They've been on the ball."
Near the end of the public portion of the meeting, the committee voted to move into executive session to discuss employment matters under the legal citation read aloud during the meeting. Mr. Wayland made the motion to go into executive session; the motion was seconded and the chair called for a voice vote. The meeting record shows the ayes were taken and the committee proceeded into executive session.
The items reported to the committee this month included occupancy, billing and AR transition status, completed HVAC work, the recent water leak response and ongoing efforts to finalize VA admission arrangements. The committee scheduled a more detailed AR report for the April meeting.
