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Rock Haven nursing facility budget shows revenue increases and proposed capital and equipment needs; administrator recommends levy reduction
Summary
Rock Haven, the county-operated skilled nursing facility, projects higher Medicaid and Medicare reimbursement rates and proposed capital spending for lifts, roof work and wireless build-out; administrator recommended reducing the facility's levy contribution amid ongoing efforts to lower contract labor costs.
County staff presented the Rock Haven skilled-nursing budget for 2026 and highlighted proposed revenue increases, maintenance and capital requests and continuing efforts to reduce contract-labor costs.
Sheriff/Health/Administration (presenters identified in the transcript as county staff) reported Rock Haven has 128 licensed beds, with about 96 occupied and one wing vacant. The 2026 revenue assumptions in the recommended budget include a Medicaid reimbursement rate of $564 per day (up from $505.26 budgeted for 2025), Medicare at $528 per day (about $40 more than 2025) and a private-pay rate increasing to $400 per day effective March 1, 2026 (from $385 in 2025). The recommended resident mix used in revenue projections is an average daily census of 65 Medicaid, 11 Medicare and 16 private-pay residents.
Planned capital and equipment requests include smart lifts (estimated $19,764) to reduce staff injuries and related workers’ compensation costs; a kitchen heating unit ($25,000); roof replacement work ($40,000) related to the 2013-built facility; and a wireless access build-out (amount not specified in the transcript) to support clinical charting and resident/family connectivity. Other smaller purchases include floor scrubbers and mattress replacements. Staff told supervisors they do not plan to reopen the vacant wing in 2026.
Personnel requests included several clinical staffing changes recommended by a Health Dimensions Group review; those requests — including converting a 0.5 administrative professional to 1.0 FTE — were not recommended in the administrator's budget. The administration declined the department’s larger clinical staffing package at this time, saying it would re-evaluate if contract staffing declines and payroll stabilizes.
The administrator’s recommended budget includes a $1.5 million decrease in Rock Haven’s requested levy support (a roughly 40% reduction from the prior year figure cited in the presentation). County staff emphasized continued focus on filling vacancies to reduce expensive contract labor, and noted a recent marketing hire to support census stabilization.
Why it matters: Rock Haven is a county-operated skilled-nursing facility with significant operating and capital needs; changes in federal and state reimbursement rates, census and contract labor directly affect facility finances and the county levy. Supervisors asked how the budget would respond if federal reimbursement changes and how management planned to address contract-labor costs.
Ending: Staff said the county would adjust mid-year if reimbursement rates change and will continue operational work to reduce contract labor and monitor census and revenue.
