LaSalle County nursing home seeks more nurses, emergency pipe repair and upgrades; board forwards PRN pay raise to salary committee

Kathy, the nursing home administrator, briefed the LaSalle County board on operations, staffing and capital needs at the LaSalle County Nursing Home, reporting a current census of 61 residents, seven new admissions and five discharges for December and asking the board to consider wage changes and several maintenance projects, including an immediate pipe repair.

Kathy said long‑term care staffing rules issued by the Illinois Department of Public Health were implemented January 1 and require facilities to maintain direct care nursing coverage 24 hours a day, seven days a week. She told the board that three current nurses would leave by the end of January and that the facility has been using agency nurses at about $80 per hour to cover gaps. To improve recruitment and reduce reliance on agency staff, Kathy requested increasing the full‑time starting wage for registered nurses to $35 per hour and raising PRN (as‑needed) RN pay; the board voted to forward a motion to raise PRN RN pay to $40 per hour to the salary and labor committee for further review and eventual full‑board consideration.

Board members asked Kathy for more…