Monday’s meeting of the Monroe County Board began with several residents speaking out in favor of maintaining control of county-owned senior living and rehabilitation center Oak Hill.

The unusually lengthy public input portion of the meeting was prompted by an audit review discussion during the prior county board meeting when Commissioner Vicki Koerber asked about options for Oak Hill after bonds issued for construction of the facility located on Hamacher Street in Waterloo are paid off next year. 

Koerber acknowledged the residents’ concerns, surmising the reaction was due to an article in the Aug. 7 issue of the Republic-Times which recounted audit supervisor Jim Schmersahl explaining possible benefits of the county divesting itself from Oak Hill.

While Koerber said the report was accurate, she said there was some misunderstanding about what was actually said.

“The question that was asked to the auditor, Mr. Schmersahl, was, ‘Where do we go from here once we pay off the bonds? I know that because I asked the question,’” Koerber began. “Mr. Schmersahl is the one who said it’s up to the board, asking if we wanted to be in the nursing home business. It was a question answered by a question… There’s been no decision, just so you know. Thank you for the comments.”

The comments were all in favor of the county retaining its control of Oak Hill.

The first to speak was Alan Felix, whose wife has been a longtime Oak Hill employee. He said he and his wife “love the nursing home” and neither want to see it taken over by a “St. Louis firm,” speculating that the quality of care for  its residents would decrease.

Frequent meeting attendee Pat Kelly also spoke, saying he has lived in Monroe County his entire life and “paid into the nursing home,” adding he was hoping to “retire into the nursing home.”

Kelly also said he would like to see any decision of that magnitude decided by Monroe County voters.

The speaker with the most input was Caroline Muench, who was joined by her mother Dixie Laterjung.

Over the years, Muench and Laterjung have been staunch advocates for the county staying involved with Oak Hill. Muench addressed the board in 2017 after comments by commissioners at that time were taken to mean the county was exploring the possibility of relinquishing control of the senior living community.

During Monday’s meeting, Muench read a prepared statement which was critical of what could happen if Oak Hill were privately owned.

She claimed a “corporate” model of private ownership would result in Oak Hill receiving “direction from a corporation who in turn answer to their investors with profit driving every decision.”

Furthermore, Muench cited several studies describing “lower quality of care” at senior living facilities that are privately owned. 

She described conditions at several area nursing homes, reporting that Bria of Columbia has “received poor Medicare quality measure and related citations” and that Integrity Health of Smithton was cited by the Illinois Department of Public Health for “problems that put the residents’ health and safety in immediate jeopardy.”

Similarly, Muench claimed that 14 of 15 facilities in St. Clair County currently have one- or two-star ratings by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, noting Oak Hill has received the “prestigious” five-star rating in 2014. Oak Hill has since been rated at the four-star level or higher.

While acknowledging funding for long-term health care facilities is a “national crisis” regardless of ownership model – noting the recent closure of nursing homes in New Athens and Red Bud –  Muench implored commissioners to consider the impact to its own residents when deciding the future of Oak Hill.

“Some may say, ‘This isn’t personal. It is simply a matter of running the government as fiscally responsible’ – as you would a business. Well, this is personal,” Muench said. “There are some services, like providing care for our seniors, that relinquishing control of becomes a violation of the most fundamental oath that you took as a commissioner in serving us. Those residing at Oak Hill are our conscience, and the choices you are about to make are life-altering… Will you stand upon the foundation of values you were raised with and say Monroe County respects and values our seniors, ensuring they can live the remainder of their years in our community in a safe and familiar environment with the dignity and quality our community expects?”

The final bond payment for Oak Hill will be made in 2025, after which commissioners will have the option to maintain operations as they are or possibly sell Oak Hill to a private firm, but the county has not engaged in formal conversations about the future of the facility, as Koerber indicated.

Also on the agenda Monday morning was a report about the current state of Oak Hill as provided by administrator Shari Kruep. 

Despite Oak Hill operating below revenue, the facility was profitable in June and July. Kruep reported the memory care wing of Oak Hill is full, but employee expenses and filling rooms in other living areas continue to be an issue, although census is “steady.”

Another issue Kruep described is a recent COVID-19 outbreak, with about 15 residents and 10 employees testing positive and displaying flu and cold-like symptoms.

Kruep said the virus is now in its endemic stage and will continue to pop up, adding it is difficult to predict as COVID does not coincide with the traditional schedule of seasonal respiratory illnesses.

In other business, Monroe County Circuit Clerk Lisa Fallon addressed commissioners regarding a recent audit of her office.

While Fallon said the audit went well, and her office received a “clean opinion” with “no deficiencies,” she said state-required “statement of accountabilities” threw a “monkey wrench” into the process.

The statements are required as a recording of how various monies flow through the court system, which Fallon said are atypical in that the fines and fees go through multiple channels rather than one simplified account. 

Fortunately, Fallon had applied for and received grant funding to allow the company used for her office’s case management documentation to generate the statements, which she said saves her office months of work.

The next meeting of the County Board takes place Tuesday, Sept. 3 at the Monroe County Courthouse, taking into account the Labor Day holiday.