The Lincoln County Board of Supervisors voted 14-8 on June 17, 2025, to approve the sale of Pine Crest Nursing Home to The Ensign Group through their subsidiaries Merrill Health Holdings, LLC and Jack Pines Healthcare, LLC.
The decision came after extensive public comment from 17 speakers, all addressing the controversial sale, and heated debate among supervisors regarding budget concerns, lease agreements, and procedural matters.
County Board Vice Chair Julie DePasse outlined the county’s financial challenges during her 2026 budget presentation, noting a current shortfall of approximately $1.5 million that must be addressed to balance the budget for 2026, which currently includes funding for Pine Crest Nursing Home. “That’s how much we have to come up with to balance this budget in terms of extra revenue or spending cuts,” DePasse said.
During later debate, DePasse emphasized: “Numbers are real. Economics are real. And it’s basic. We have right now a company with a far greater breadth and depth of knowledge than we will ever have here at a county to run that nursing home. They have far greater resources. They will be able to care for our people. We’ll be able to keep a skilled nursing facility in Merrill ... which is all of our goal. But if we keep ignoring the true budget problems we have, worse things are going to happen because ... there’s nowhere left to ... find a million and a half dollars.”
Several supervisors framed the decision as having only two viable options: selling to a private company or closing the facility entirely. Supervisor Angela Cummings said, “This is a good choice to get a good company that will grow. Our only other choice would be to close it.”
When audience members responded negatively, Cummings continued: “Close or sell ... Those are the only two options. We have worked very hard to keep a running nursing home in our community ... And if people are willing to sabotage this deal, then I’m going to lay it at your feet that it’s going to close.”
This perspective was echoed during public comment by Jeff Benedict, who supported the sale: “If we wait too long and the facility deteriorates further, you’re not gonna have anybody who’s gonna wanna buy it and then you’re stuck with either the county putting in billions of dollars or closing it. And that’s the last thing anybody wants to have.”
These statements reflected the view that continuing county ownership was financially unsustainable, leaving privatization as the only alternative to closure.
During public comment, the majority of the speakers opposed the sale, with many expressing frustration over the lack of a public referendum. Sister Kathy Lang said: “I’m disappointed that I never saw an effort from the county board to get together with the People of (sic) Pine Crest to work together to see if we could find different solutions and alternate options for keeping Pine Crest county owned.”
Dora Gorski, a former board member whose husband was a Pine Crest resident, worried about losing community voice: “Once this is taken over by some for-profit entity, we’re not gonna have a voice. The number one motive is going to be making a profit and the people who are there are secondary.”
Josh Oxboro read from ProPublica records detailing numerous citations against Ensign Group facilities. “There’s 300 plus incidents since 2000,” he said. “If you would like to see your mother or father, or grandfather or grandmother in a situation where they get to be party to one of these citations or lawsuits, then I suggest you vote Yes.”
Gary Olsen from North Central Health Care (NCHC), which currently operates Pine Crest under contract, announced: “In 2020, North Central Health Care signed an agreement to run Pine Crest ... I believe that we’ve done a good job. But the last two years have been very difficult with the on again, off again and the hardships of ... is it going to sell, is it going to be there? It’s been very difficult on the organization, it’s been difficult on operations, it’s been very difficult on the employees.”
“The executive committee began some discussions at their last meeting to talk about the agreement, and that will be on the agenda again next week, to consider termination, sending a letter of termination of the agreement effective the first of the year,” he said.
Olsen spoke highly of the Ensign Group: “I’ve spent the last couple weeks with Ensign Group talking to them as we’ve been talking about what would need to happen in transition ... they’re a very impressive group, so I just wanted to put a plug in for them, because I think that they’re an excellent buyer.”
During the meeting, several supervisors threw up procedural hurdles. Supervisor Donald Dunphy initially questioned whether the sale required a two-thirds majority vote under state statute 65.95, but Corporation Counsel Karry Johnson determined: “Reading the language in the statute, it does not seem applicable to the situation” as “the county is not changing the amount of tax to be levied or certified.”
Supervisor Greg Hartwig, who visited Ensign facilities during the selection process, defended the choice of Ensign as purchaser. “For one, I’d like to say that we didn’t choose the highest offer,” he said. “This offer was significantly less than the highest offer ... We picked a company that we thought would do well in Lincoln County, would serve the community, would serve the residents and employees.”
He highlighted the improvements they had made to the Benedictine facility they purchased in Wausau last fall, from the time they had aquired the property until his visit when he spoke with staff there. “In that four months, they were getting new bariatric equipment, new Hoyer lifts, they added a laundry, they’re working on the roof, HVAC was planned, they’re getting new beds. That was a lot for four months,” he said.
Supervisor Ken Wickham argued that constituents supported privatization. “I heard loud and clear from my constituents of district 18 that they did not want a referendum, they did not want to continue to keep Pine Crest County owned,” he said. “They wanted to keep ... a nursing home in Merrill, but they were in favor of privatizing it.”
After a motion to adjourn failed 18-4, and a motion to close debate passed 21-1, the board voted 14-8 to approve the sale. Voting yes were Anderson-Malm, Zelinski, Thiel, Boyd, Detert, DePasse, Lyskawa, Lemke, Miller, Muenier, Wickham, Cummings, Simon, and Hartwig. Voting no were McCrank, Woellner, Ashbeck, Dunphy, Vorpagel, Bishop, Dorava, and Bialecki.
In response to the vote, the citizen group calling themselves People for Pine Crest issued a statement criticizing the board’s decision and vowing to continue their efforts. The group disputed the framing that the county faced only two options, with Scott Doerr of Merrill saying: “The future of Pine Crest is not a choice between selling it and closing it. We own it and we can keep it for generations to come. For several members of this board to not even consider a long-term plan that keeps our nursing home local, affordable, and providing high quality care for years is an absolute failure of leadership.”
The group also criticized the public engagement process. “The county board did not hold a single public meeting where they would answer questions from people about the sale. The so-called town halls they held were a sham, nothing more than a glorified sales pitch from Ensign Group,” Michael Southcombe said.
Former county supervisor Jim Alber held a public meeting in Tomahawk on June 21 to announce his plan for a federal lawsuit challenging the county’s sale. Three current supervisors attended the meeting.
Alber outlined his constitutional argument based on the interstate commerce clause, stating: “When Lincoln County put a stamp on the envelope to send out my tax bill, they entered it into interstate commerce and ... the interstate commerce clause has a lot of teeth, my friends.”
He argued that selling Pine Crest violates his civil rights: “For Lincoln County to renege on its promise to me that there would be a Pine Crest nursing facility, Lincoln County owned, Lincoln County operated, Lincoln County taxpayer funded for me in my time of need, whether by disability, illness, injury, or the negative effects of aging is a direct violation, I say ... of my civil rights under the Constitution.”
“I don’t care what the arguments are,” he said. “I, James C. Alber, am going to file a petition in federal court and take my chances in support of a Lincoln County owned, Lincoln County funded, Lincoln County operated Pine Crest nursing facility.”
When pressed about his chances, Alber acknowledged uncertainty: “If you ask me what the odds are, probably against me; I think there are a couple other lawsuits that are coming toward in this direction that are much more viable than mine.”
On Facebook, during discussions about Alber’s meeting, Supervisors Hartwig and Simon defended the sale decision and warned about potential closure if the sale doesn’t proceed.
Supervisor Simon responded, saying Lincoln County will have no alternative but to close Pine Crest if this sale is quashed. “We are a million dollars short on all programs, already. Constraints on tax levy, limited long range borrowing will create significant problems for the county, going forward ... And when NCHC drops operation, Lincoln County cannot hire the staff to run the Home. Period! I hate to say it, but a new lawsuit will displace current residents by 2026 ... And that, is the truth ...”
Supervisor Hartwig emphasized the point, as well. “Do you realize what Gary Olsen said during the last two meetings?” he said. “NCHCC said they may pull out of running operations for Pine Crest. Do you realize what will happen if we don’t have an operator for the facility, and Ensign backs out? It will close in my opinion ... I do not want to have a vote for closure, but I believe that will happen if this occurs.”
“Selling it is saving it,” Hartwig added. “I hope people think long and hard before filing a lawsuit to stop the sale, as that is a lawsuit to close it in my opinion. I DO NOT want to vote on that! Mr. Albers said if he files a suit, he will take responsibility for closing it? That’s nice of him, he will take responsibility, but that doesn’t help employees, residents, that Pine Crest would help the tax levy being private, and taxpayers will be on the hook for an $8.2 million loan, making payments on a closed facility until 2038.”
Area resident Julie Rajek also added her thoughts. “I wish it could be owned by Lincoln County also, but we can’t afford it! You have to do what is right. Where are these residents going to go when it closes, and it will with a lawsuit. What are those who want this lawsuit going to say then? Apparently they have no loved ones there. Think, people. Put your pride aside and think of the residents and the future residents. Albers says he will take responsibility ... again where does that leave the residents? Is he going to start his own nursing home so these people have a place to go? I just don’t get it. Think about the families who can’t go to sleep tonight because they don’t know where their loved ones will go. Please do the right thing. Please.”
This is the second time the Board has passed a resolution to sell Pine Crest. Last time, the purchaser backed out of the sale in June 2024 after Supervisor Donald Dunphy filed a lawsuit against Lincoln County.
While the People for Pine Crest has alluded to another potential lawsuit to stop the sale again, in addition to Alber vowing to file suit, many Lincoln County Board Supervisors warn that doing so will put the very existence of the nursing home in jeopardy. In fact, with the 2026 Lincoln County budget not yet finalized and coming up short, and with North Central Health Care contemplating terminating the contract to continue managing Pine Crest Nursing Home, delays in closing or an injunction stopping the proposed sale of Pine Crest Nursing Home will likely result in the outright closing of the skilled nursing facility, some county supervisors say—which is the last thing anyone in Lincoln County wants. And that seems to be the only thing all the people who have different viewpoints about the best way for Pine Crest to remain viable can seem to agree on.
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