BY TINA L. SCOTT
EDITOR
On Friday, March 31, 2023, the Lincoln County Board of Supervisors announced they will host two Town Hall Meetings to gather public opinion on the future of Pine Crest Nursing Home. The public is invited and encouraged to come to offer input and ask questions about the specific options outlined in the Ad Hoc Committee on Pine Crest’s report, which was recently submitted to the Board for review.
The meetings will be held:
• Thursday, April 6, 2023, at 5:00 p.m. at the Bradley Town Hall, 1518 W. Mohawk Dr. in Tomahawk; and
• Wednesday, April 12, 2023, at 6:00 p.m. at the Lincoln County Government Services Building, Room 257, 801 N. Sales St. in Merrill
These town halls “will allow information sharing and community input,” Lincoln County Administrative Coordinator Renee Krueger said. “There will be no decision making at these town halls.”
Questions may be submitted in advance of the Town Hall Meetings at: https://co.lincoln.wi.us/administration/webform/pine-crest-questions.
“Please help your County Board Supervisors determine the future of Pine Crest Nursing Home operations and the role of Lincoln County Government,” a press release from the County Board said.
Background
On June 21, 2022, the Lincoln County Board of Supervisors adopted a Resolution to form an Ad Hoc Committee on Pine Crest and provided that: “The scope and duties of this Committee were defined as follows: 1) Review the existing financial obligations concerning Pine Crest, and to review the prudence of any future contractual obligations concerning Pine Crest made by either signed contract or County Board resolution; 2) Review the original and current use of the Pine Crest building and grounds; 3) Review the Nursing Home Management Agreement and the Memorandum of Understanding (repair and maintenance of durable medical equipment and removal/rearrangement of furniture) between Lincoln County and North Central Health Care as such documents relate to the building and bed licenses; 4) Provide a report to the Lincoln County Board of Supervisors outlining the past and current successes, failures, and status of Pine Crest Nursing Home; and 5) Provide recommendations to the Lincoln County Board of Supervisors for consideration, detailing areas of improvement for Lincoln County’s overall position concerning Pine Crest Nursing Home.”
At the March 21, 2023 County Board Meeting, the Ad Hoc Committee on Pine Crest presented the Lincoln County Board with their findings, which includes detailed alternatives, options, and measures for addressing the Pine Crest Facility and Nursing Home. This report can be viewed on the Lincoln County website at: https://co.lincoln.wi.us/bc-County-Board/page/County-Board-meeting-49 and anyone with an interest in Pine Crest will want to review the findings and in particular, the options presented.
A video recording of the March County Board Meeting is also available for viewing at the same link.
Pine Crest Nursing Home in jeopardy
“Pine Crest has served the Merrill and surrounding communities for more than 60 years and it is extremely unfortunate that the Lincoln County Board has been placed in the situation of having to consider options that would include selling this facility,” said Calvin Callahan, 35th Assembly District State Representative and member of the Lincoln County Board. [Editor’s Note: Selling the facility is just one of the options being considered.]
“This has been created by a substantial loss in funding in the Medicaid Supplemental Payment program by Gov. Evers’s Administration,” he said.
Calvin pointed out that the changes have not impacted all county-run nursing homes the same, however.
“While the Administration has created budget deficits at Pine Crest and many other county-run nursing homes across the state, Rock and Dane County nursing homes now have budget surpluses,” he said. “In fact, 23 county-run nursing homes had a $16,413,500 total reduction in revenue, while Rock County received $2,168,200 and Dane County received $7,281,600. Once again, even on as simple an issue as elder care, the governor has cast aside the rest of the state and placed his focus on southern Wisconsin.”
“Ten Wisconsin nursing homes closed in 2022 and two have already closed in 2023,” Callahan said.
“Pine Crest has requested $1.2 million dollars from the $15 million that Lincoln County levies from local taxpayers to make up the shortfall created by the Evers Administration,” he said, referring to the letter Don Friske, Chairman of the Lincoln County Board of Supervisors, sent to Gov. Tony Evers on March 17. [See article in March 23 edition of the Merrill Foto News, also available online at https://merrillfotonews.com/2023/03/22/friske-appeals-to-evers-for-pine-crest-nursing-home-support/.]
As of this writing, Friske said he had not heard anything back from Gov. Evers in response to the letter.
Shortfall from state adds to the problem
Before learning of the more than $1.2 million shortfall for 2022, Lincoln County was already looking at the options for Pine Crest, as evidenced by the creation of the Ad Hoc Committee on Pine Crest back in June. The recent news of that shortfall from the State of Wisconsin only compounded the problem.
And adding the shortfall caused by the changes to the tax levy for Lincoln County “would be unsustainable and fiscally irresponsible for the Board to pass,” Callahan said.
“Unfortunately, the same thing is happening in other counties across Wisconsin. Does the governor care about what is happening to these communities up north? It certainly doesn’t appear so. It is my hope that the Administration looks into this and changes direction before it is too late,” Callahan said.
“The current state leadership has offered little if any help, and the current economic climate is basically adding fuel to the fire,” said Christopher J. Marlowe, Lincoln County Clerk.
“Publicly owned assisted living facilities are not a common venture,” he said. “Operating and maintaining this facility with the current state rate formulas is unsustainable. We do not have the tax levy to commit to our aging facility.”
“The Lincoln County Board of Supervisors are actively seeking public input prior to any decisions being made regarding the fiscal challenges facing us regarding Pine Crest Nursing Home,” Krueger said.
“We have a very conscientious Board that wants to represent their constituents to the best of their ability. We need the public input on how we proceed with this venture. We are at a crossroad in determining if our County government should remain in the assisted living business,” Marlowe said.
The future of Pine Crest to be decided
“At the April 18th County Board meeting the County Board Supervisors will begin discussing the information in the report, the information gathered during the Town Hall Meetings, and the information received from constituents in their respective districts, thereby beginning the decision-making process,” said Don Friske, Chairman of the Lincoln County Board of Supervisors.
“While it is fair to say fiscal concerns resulted in the creation of the Ad Hoc Committee being formed,” he said, “it has never been to the exclusion of how any changes to the current operation could impact our Pine Crest residents, their families, and the staff that provides their care.”
“I believe the decisions concerning how Lincoln County moves forward concerning Pine Crest Nursing Home will be discussed around three guiding points:
“a). How does Lincoln County address the continuation of specialized medical care for our aging population.
“b). How are we best able to provide a stable work environment for the staff of Pine Crest.
“c). In considering a-b above, we must ensure the County taxpayers are considered and well represented in the process,” Friske said.
“The timeline on a final decision on any changes to the current system will be determined by the County Board as we move forward,” he said.
“The Lincoln County Supervisors and Administration continue to express their gratitude for the quality of care that the North Central Health Care employees provide and the responsiveness and collaboration of the current administration,” Krueger said.
“Pine Crest Nursing Home is a wonderful asset to our community,” Marlowe said. “The staff and management are top notch.”
The County will be compiling a “Commonly Asked Questions” document on their website to “allow for our citizens to access as much information as possible,” Krueger said. “We are committed to providing as much information to employees, residents, and the community as it becomes available.”