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Cass County commissioners send medical care facility millage ballot language to regular meeting after facility presentation
Summary
A representative of the Cass County medical care facility outlined facility needs and urged a millage; commissioners voted to send the millage ballot language to the August business meeting for further consideration.
Cass County commissioners voted to send proposed ballot language for a medical care facility millage to the board’s regular August meeting after a detailed presentation about the facility’s needs.
Mercedes, a representative of the Cass County medical care facility, told the board the facility is one of 34 county-run nursing homes in Michigan and that the state has 425 nursing homes overall. She said nursing facilities in Michigan have experienced a 3.5% closure rate since 2020 and that the national number of nursing homes has dropped about 3.3% since 2020. Mercedes said the Cass County facility is ranked first on the Medicare Compare website and among the top 10% at the state and federal level.
Mercedes described capital and service needs that the millage would aim to address: more private rooms, assisted- and independent-living options, dementia care, a specialized subacute unit for residents with ventilators or tracheostomies, expanded bariatric capability, upgraded staff education and costly medical supplies, and building repairs including roof and parking resurfacing. She said the facility is an 80-bed facility with a current census of 69 residents. On dialysis, Mercedes said expanding local dialysis services would require significant funding and staffing; she told commissioners she had refused at least two recent admissions in the past 30 days for dialysis-level care, one of whom was a Cass County resident.
The board did not adopt ballot language at the meeting. Commissioner (unnamed on the record) moved to send the resolution and the ballot language to the regular meeting in August for consideration; the motion received support and was approved by voice vote.
The move forwards the proposal to the board’s next regular meeting, where commissioners said they expect more time for discussion and formal consideration of the ballot language and related materials.
Ending — The board’s action was procedural: it advanced the proposed millage language for fuller consideration at the next regular meeting. No millage was placed on the ballot at this meeting and no fiscal or ballot details were finalized.
