A county-owned nursing home in Wisconsin will defy national trends not only by remaining open but also by building a new wing for dementia patients.
The St. Croix County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously last month to maintain county ownership of the St. Croix Health Center, a 50-bed nursing home in New Richmond, a city of about 10,000 a little east of Minneapolis.
“Although technically [the] sale of the nursing home was an option, that was never a serious consideration,” Board of Supervisors Vice Chair Bob Feidler wrote in a letter to the editor of the Hudson Star-Observer.
Feidler’s letter was published Monday and noted that the facility’s finances are “in the black.” He also said that the county expects revenues to increase due to “enhanced” Medicaid reimbursements.
Wisconsin has increased reimbursements for nursing homes by more than $500 million over a four-year period, and a plan to invest $258 million for assisted living and home-based care could give nursing homes a boost, McKnight’s Long-Term Care reported last month.
St. Croix County has secured nearly $700,000 in grants for its nursing home, Feidler said in his letter. County supervisors recently ordered that $500,000 of a project revenue increase next year be used to offset increased debt payments, which are expected to go up to $1.6 million a year from $1.1 million.
“The grant funding will permit the facility to attract needed staff and to open the Kitty Rhoades wing for use by dementia patients,” Feidler said. “The wing is expected to be filled to near capacity and generate substantial revenue. Overall, the facility is expected to generate sufficient income well into the future to operate in the black while assisting in paying down the bond.”
The nursing home has a 4-star rating on Care Compare, which includes 5 stars for staffing.
“As part of the public comment [at the supervisors’ meeting], many accolades were given to the management and staff of the nursing home for the high quality of care they have consistently delivered,” Feidler said.
According to a report from the National Association of Counties, 32 states in 2022 had at least one county-owned nursing home and 40 states had county-supporting facilities. Indiana and Texas each had more than 100 county-owned or -supported nursing homes.
