DeKalb County OKs second accountant role for beleaguered nursing home

SYCAMORE – The DeKalb County Board has voted to allow the DeKalb County Rehabilitation and Nursing Center to hire a position officials believe could have helped prevent the fiscal crisis that nearly led to the property’s sale.

DeKalb County did not end up selling the nursing center, despite accepting a letter of intent for an $8.3 million sales agreement with prospective buyers in 2022. That deal fell through more than a year later. The county recently settled a lawsuit regarding the failed sale.

The long-term care center faced more than $7 million in debt by the time the DeKalb County Board voted to sell the property in 2022. With the center still in county hands, officials have sought to find ways to shore up financial losses in the years since.

Mary Hatch, vice chair of the DCRNC shore up Board, told the DeKalb County Board that the facility has had to pay Jordan Healthcare Group additional money to help with billing services. The group was already contracted by the county to help the facility’s financial troubles.

Hath referenced a component that county officials previously said contributed to inadequate revenue streams at the facility: that billing wasn’t being done on time.

“We are vulnerable to chaos and catastrophe, should either of these staff members leave or fall seriously ill,” Hatch said. “Remember, billing and receivables issues contributed to our recent crisis. Jordan is currently doing some of our billing and insurance at a rate that is close to eight times what this hourly rate is – the hourly rate this position would pay."

The DeKalb County Board heeded Hatch’s warning and on May 21 approved a new position for the center: A second full-time accounting clerk at the rehab and nursing center. Before that decision, the DeKalb County Rehab and Nursing Center, often called the DCRNC, employed the equivalent of 1½ full-time accounting clerks.

The new accounting clerk will be paid approximately $57,000 plus benefits, according to DeKalb County documents. The county’s fiscal 2025 budget doesn’t account for that new position. But nursing center staff said they found spare funding from the facility’s activities department budget, documents cite.

As of April 30, the DCRNC’s activities department had used 9.3% of its $419,453 budget, according to county documents.

Before the DeKalb County Board voted, Anna Wilhelmi, chair of the DCRNC Oversight Board, said she was in favor of creating the position.

“As you all are aware, we had come into some trouble a couple of years ago as far as billing, and we do not want to get behind again,” said Wilhelmi, who also chairs the DeKalb County Democratic Party.

Nursing center administrator Bart Becker said the person hired for the new accounting position would be trained to perform other duties at the facility.

“It goes without saying that there would be cross-training,” Becker said. “In every department throughout the building, we do cross-training. That would definitely be something that we would do.”