While no details had been divulged to this point about the departure of Shari Kruep as administrator of the county-owned Oak Hill senior living center in Waterloo, correspondence obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request yielded multiple reasons for her termination in late September.

An “employment termination” correspondence dated Sept. 20, 2024,  sent to Kruep from the Monroe County Board of Commissioners and signed by Board Chairman George Green refers to a “licensure survey” conducted by the Illinois Department of Public Health in August.

According to the letter, the survey “resulted in a Statement of Deficiencies” found by IDPH inspectors.

“Many of the items listed in the statement related to alleged abuse or neglect of residents and the failure to report the allegation to IDPH as required by law,” the letter stated. “All the allegations of abuse and neglect set forth in the statement were reported to you (Kruep) in your role as administrator of Oak Hill. However, you failed to report all the allegations to IDPH as required by law…which is wholly unacceptable.”

As previously reported, a lawsuit was filed last month against Monroe County and Oak Hill which alleges wrongful death, common-law negligence, violations of the Illinois Nursing Home Care Act and “willful and wanton” violations of the Nursing Home Care Act” in connection with the Oct. 29, 2023, death of a resident who had only been admitted to Oak Hill/Evergreen Point two weeks prior.

While Kruep, who was hired in early 2022, is not named specifically in that lawsuit, the incident happened during her time as administrator.

In a May 10, 2023, Republic-Times article, a family member of a man who was admitted to Oak Hill shortly after Kruep’s hiring related allegations of repeated abuse and neglect with little to no communication from the facility about how to remedy the issues.

Dennis Knobloch, who was a county commissioner at the time, said an investigation had begun in response to those allegations.

In a more direct endangerment of Oak Hill residents, the termination letter to Kruep also cites several deficiencies regarding the handling of COVID-19 as a facility and against Kruep herself.

“Following your receipt of the statement and being informed that proper COVID protocols were not being followed at Oak Hill, you tested positive for COVID and repeatedly presented at Oak Hill even though you were informed that this was not acceptable and that you needed to remain off-property,” the letter obtained by FOIA request stated. 

“Your failure to follow a directive regarding remaining off property jeopardized the health and safety of Oak Hill employees and residents. All of the preceding conduct is egregious and unacceptable,” the letter concludes. “As such, your employment is terminated, effective immediately.”

According to an email to all Oak Hill employees sent by Green following Kruep’s termination – also obtained via FOIA request – Alicia Emmerich, Oak Hill’s chief financial officer, has been named “acting administrator” of Oak Hill.

Monroe County State’s Attorney Ryan Webb spoke with the Republic-Times on Monday, stating that the county ultimately has responsibility of Oak Hill personnel, and that the employees and department leaders are maintaining day-to-day operations as commissioners explore options concerning any future appointments or hirings.

The email to Oak Hill employees also stated “The county board believes that the residents of Oak Hill deserve the absolute best care that can be given,” reiterating that failure to report alleged abuse and neglect is unacceptable. 

“The county board remains committed to the success of Oak Hill and will, as it has always done, provide all available resources necessary to ensure such continued success,” the email continued, adding  the board “knows that each and every employee at Oak Hill contributes to its sterling reputation, and for that we would like to express our appreciation.”

Kruep’s termination has not been included in recent county board agendas or been discussed, apart from the Nov. 4 meeting when Emmerich was named as an “authorized signature” for the Oak Hill bank account.

Emmerich is the fourth person to act as administrator at Oak Hill in the past four years.

Kruep had taken over for former longtime administrator Kim Keckritz, who came out of semi-retirement in September 2021 when Brian Koontz resigned as Oak Hill administrator after only a year on the job.

Kruep’s tenure at Oak Hill was also marked by poor financial performance.

In the county’s Fiscal Year 2023 final budget report, the once-profitable facility carried an “operating” loss of $1.1 million.