MONROE - A referendum asking voters to OK an extra $790,000 annually for five years for Pleasant View Nursing Home is one step closer to becoming reality.
The referendum would go on the ballot as early as February. The committee that oversees the county-run nursing home unanimously passed a motion at a special meeting Thursday, Oct. 24, to recommend that the Finance Committee bring the referendum to the full county board for a final decision in November or December.
If the proposed referendum goes to voters but doesn't pass, "then we have a major problem," said committee member Sue Disch.
Without the referendum, Pleasant View could limp along by deferring capital expenses and continuing to operate in deficit, but eventually it won't be enough, according to Dennis Everson, another committee member.
"If we have to close, we are obligated to relocate (residents)," said director Terry Hensel. In that case, residents would be moved to other facilities and the staff of 180 would gradually be laid off.
But even without a county-operated nursing home, Green County wouldn't be totally off the hook for the costs of providing nursing home care to its residents, Hensel said. Some expenses would still fall back on the county, even if a resident was housed elsewhere.
Before the five-member committee voted in favor of the referendum, Hensel presented them with a review she did of county-operated nursing homes across the state. Half of Wisconsin's 72 counties provide this service to residents.
She also handed out a list of long-range major repairs and equipment needs. This includes the eventual replacement of a $120,000 dishwasher, 44-year-old jacks for elevator pistons, and the 21-year-old roof, which alone is estimated at $300,000 to $400,000.
The biggest drain on the facility continues to be the hit it takes on Medicaid-funded patients, who aren't reimbursed in full by the state. Still, like other county-run nursing homes in Wisconsin, Pleasant View is contractually obligated to accept any Medicaid patient it can medically serve. Currently 78 percent of the nursing home's residents are funded via Medicaid.
The gap left by Medicaid reimbursements is the real reason for the referendum, the committee agreed. At the same time, the need for the nursing home's services are not likely to lessen, with Green County's population aging and more residents expected with a VA contract that's in the works.
The "explosion" of Baby Boomers entering their mid-80s is still about two decades off, Everson said.
Hensel also presented the committee with ideas for improving efficiencies at Pleasant View. She recommended the committee get a feasibility study done next year. Evaluation by a consultant like the Appleton-based Community Living Solutions would frame suggestions for improvement around the local culture of Green County, she said.
Disch agreed.
"There's no reason for us to reinvent the wheel if there's someone out there that can help us," she said.
Hensel described efficiencies she'd like to see within Pleasant View's workforce, including more reliance on nursing assistants and cross-training staff to perform multiple functions.
"We need people taking care of people," she said, and not more people in offices doing paperwork.
Above all, she'd like to see the facility be realistic about its finances.
"I think sometimes in our business we're ashamed to talk about money," but nursing homes provide a high-cost service, she said.
The referendum would go on the ballot as early as February. The committee that oversees the county-run nursing home unanimously passed a motion at a special meeting Thursday, Oct. 24, to recommend that the Finance Committee bring the referendum to the full county board for a final decision in November or December.
If the proposed referendum goes to voters but doesn't pass, "then we have a major problem," said committee member Sue Disch.
Without the referendum, Pleasant View could limp along by deferring capital expenses and continuing to operate in deficit, but eventually it won't be enough, according to Dennis Everson, another committee member.
"If we have to close, we are obligated to relocate (residents)," said director Terry Hensel. In that case, residents would be moved to other facilities and the staff of 180 would gradually be laid off.
But even without a county-operated nursing home, Green County wouldn't be totally off the hook for the costs of providing nursing home care to its residents, Hensel said. Some expenses would still fall back on the county, even if a resident was housed elsewhere.
Before the five-member committee voted in favor of the referendum, Hensel presented them with a review she did of county-operated nursing homes across the state. Half of Wisconsin's 72 counties provide this service to residents.
She also handed out a list of long-range major repairs and equipment needs. This includes the eventual replacement of a $120,000 dishwasher, 44-year-old jacks for elevator pistons, and the 21-year-old roof, which alone is estimated at $300,000 to $400,000.
The biggest drain on the facility continues to be the hit it takes on Medicaid-funded patients, who aren't reimbursed in full by the state. Still, like other county-run nursing homes in Wisconsin, Pleasant View is contractually obligated to accept any Medicaid patient it can medically serve. Currently 78 percent of the nursing home's residents are funded via Medicaid.
The gap left by Medicaid reimbursements is the real reason for the referendum, the committee agreed. At the same time, the need for the nursing home's services are not likely to lessen, with Green County's population aging and more residents expected with a VA contract that's in the works.
The "explosion" of Baby Boomers entering their mid-80s is still about two decades off, Everson said.
Hensel also presented the committee with ideas for improving efficiencies at Pleasant View. She recommended the committee get a feasibility study done next year. Evaluation by a consultant like the Appleton-based Community Living Solutions would frame suggestions for improvement around the local culture of Green County, she said.
Disch agreed.
"There's no reason for us to reinvent the wheel if there's someone out there that can help us," she said.
Hensel described efficiencies she'd like to see within Pleasant View's workforce, including more reliance on nursing assistants and cross-training staff to perform multiple functions.
"We need people taking care of people," she said, and not more people in offices doing paperwork.
Above all, she'd like to see the facility be realistic about its finances.
"I think sometimes in our business we're ashamed to talk about money," but nursing homes provide a high-cost service, she said.