DARLINGTON - The administrator of Lafayette Manor will remain on paid leave for three more months, a county committee voted after about an hour in closed session Tuesday evening.
In three months, the committee that oversees the county-owned skilled nursing facility plans to reevaluate Catherine Krentz's employment status. The committee put her on administrative leave Aug. 31, amid what it described as "turmoil and negative issues."
Committee members said Tuesday the three-month extension will allow time to investigate a former employee's "lawsuits against the county," and Krentz is needed as part of the process.
That former employee, Mary Larson, said after the meeting she did not have lawsuits pending against the county but a complaint filed with the Department of Workforce Development.
Trouble at Lafayette Manor reached a peak this summer as a series of state investigations resulted in thousands of dollars in fines and the Manor being put on a federal watch list for nursing homes with "a history of serious quality issues."
Another state investigation is still pending, according Sherry Kudronowicz, the administrator of Memorial Hospital of Lafayette County. The committee picked her to take over for Krentz "until further notice."
Kudronowicz told the committee Tuesday that a plan of correction is due to the state Oct. 1, and she's hoping to get it a few days early.
Krentz's problems at Lafayette Manor don't stop at allegations of unjust firings and a recent spike in health violations at the facility.
She is also charged in Lafayette County Circuit Court with campaigning for a political ally while on the clock and through her work email. She pleaded not guilty to the forfeiture charge last week. The case is being handled by Green County Judge Thomas Vale. Her next court date is Oct. 17.
About 30 people turned out to the meeting Tuesday. The committee shushed outraged cries from the crowd and asked for order after announcing the extension of Krentz's administrative leave.
The nursing home started going downhill when Krentz took over in 2010, agreed many of those attending.
Krentz fired employees for "bogus" reasons, said Peggy Steger, a nurse who retired in May after 35 years at the Manor. She wanted to stay four more years but couldn't take the "extreme turmoil" and flagging morale among staff.
Krentz fired some staff due to a "personal vendetta," said Marion Howard, a Darlington resident whose husband lives at the Manor.
While the committee discussed Krentz's fate behind closed doors, Howard, Steger and others discussed the future of the facility.
They're adamant about one thing: the care at the nursing home is good.
"Care has been wonderful," Howard said.
"There's nothing wrong with the care," Steger chimed in.
What worries them is the possibility the turmoil at the Manor could lead to its closing and leave a gap in the area, forcing people to leave the county for skilled nursing care.
"That would break a big link in the chain," Steger said. "If that place closes, they'll have to go to Platteville, Mineral Point, Cuba City."
Her own mother had to move into a nursing home in Cuba City this summer because the Manor is suspended from taking in new Medicaid or Medicare patients as a result of the state investigations.
It's a move her mother isn't happy with, Steger said, since the doctor she knows and trusts is in Darlington.
Ron Champion, another area resident at the meeting, said he's happy with how Kudronowicz has handled her administrative duties since she took over almost a month ago, although he does have a long-standing concern that the facility could use more nurse's aides.
Champion drives from Shullsburg two times every day to visit his wife of 50 years, Barbara. She has Alzheimer's and has lived at the Manor four years. He visits for two reasons, he said, to make sure she's fed and to make sure her food hasn't gone cold.
Champion's history with the Manor goes back more than a decade. His son lived at the facility from 2000 to 2007 after a motorcycle accident left him a "vegetable."
Since Krentz came on board, "it's an altogether different place up there," Champion said. "She thinks more about the money than the people."
That kind of thinking, Steger said, does not represent the Manor's historically close-knit community. Staff at the Manor always worked as "one big family."
The nursing home committee's next meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 23.
In three months, the committee that oversees the county-owned skilled nursing facility plans to reevaluate Catherine Krentz's employment status. The committee put her on administrative leave Aug. 31, amid what it described as "turmoil and negative issues."
Committee members said Tuesday the three-month extension will allow time to investigate a former employee's "lawsuits against the county," and Krentz is needed as part of the process.
That former employee, Mary Larson, said after the meeting she did not have lawsuits pending against the county but a complaint filed with the Department of Workforce Development.
Trouble at Lafayette Manor reached a peak this summer as a series of state investigations resulted in thousands of dollars in fines and the Manor being put on a federal watch list for nursing homes with "a history of serious quality issues."
Another state investigation is still pending, according Sherry Kudronowicz, the administrator of Memorial Hospital of Lafayette County. The committee picked her to take over for Krentz "until further notice."
Kudronowicz told the committee Tuesday that a plan of correction is due to the state Oct. 1, and she's hoping to get it a few days early.
Krentz's problems at Lafayette Manor don't stop at allegations of unjust firings and a recent spike in health violations at the facility.
She is also charged in Lafayette County Circuit Court with campaigning for a political ally while on the clock and through her work email. She pleaded not guilty to the forfeiture charge last week. The case is being handled by Green County Judge Thomas Vale. Her next court date is Oct. 17.
About 30 people turned out to the meeting Tuesday. The committee shushed outraged cries from the crowd and asked for order after announcing the extension of Krentz's administrative leave.
The nursing home started going downhill when Krentz took over in 2010, agreed many of those attending.
Krentz fired employees for "bogus" reasons, said Peggy Steger, a nurse who retired in May after 35 years at the Manor. She wanted to stay four more years but couldn't take the "extreme turmoil" and flagging morale among staff.
Krentz fired some staff due to a "personal vendetta," said Marion Howard, a Darlington resident whose husband lives at the Manor.
While the committee discussed Krentz's fate behind closed doors, Howard, Steger and others discussed the future of the facility.
They're adamant about one thing: the care at the nursing home is good.
"Care has been wonderful," Howard said.
"There's nothing wrong with the care," Steger chimed in.
What worries them is the possibility the turmoil at the Manor could lead to its closing and leave a gap in the area, forcing people to leave the county for skilled nursing care.
"That would break a big link in the chain," Steger said. "If that place closes, they'll have to go to Platteville, Mineral Point, Cuba City."
Her own mother had to move into a nursing home in Cuba City this summer because the Manor is suspended from taking in new Medicaid or Medicare patients as a result of the state investigations.
It's a move her mother isn't happy with, Steger said, since the doctor she knows and trusts is in Darlington.
Ron Champion, another area resident at the meeting, said he's happy with how Kudronowicz has handled her administrative duties since she took over almost a month ago, although he does have a long-standing concern that the facility could use more nurse's aides.
Champion drives from Shullsburg two times every day to visit his wife of 50 years, Barbara. She has Alzheimer's and has lived at the Manor four years. He visits for two reasons, he said, to make sure she's fed and to make sure her food hasn't gone cold.
Champion's history with the Manor goes back more than a decade. His son lived at the facility from 2000 to 2007 after a motorcycle accident left him a "vegetable."
Since Krentz came on board, "it's an altogether different place up there," Champion said. "She thinks more about the money than the people."
That kind of thinking, Steger said, does not represent the Manor's historically close-knit community. Staff at the Manor always worked as "one big family."
The nursing home committee's next meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 23.