To bring in more nursing center residents, DeKalb County adds new position

SYCAMORE – Seven months after the $8.3 million sale of the DeKalb County Rehabilitation and Nursing Center was called off, the DeKalb County Board has unanimously approved a new position for the county-owned facility.

County officials hope a community liaison – the nursing center’s new, currently unfilled administrative role – will be able to publicize available beds at the center throughout northern Illinois because they think that the more patients receiving care there, the sooner the facility will have solid financial standing.

Speaking during a DeKalb County Board Committee of the Whole meeting earlier this month, County Board member Amber Quitno, a Democrat from District 3, said she believes DCRNC Administrator Bart Becker and the oversight board – which county officials formed at the start of the year to monitor the center – know what’s best for the facility.

“We really don’t want to micromanage the job description as much as has been discussed because I think Bart and the oversight committee understand what they need, and if we put too many terms ... on what they’re looking for, that’s just going to tie their hands,” Quitno said.

DeKalb County shuffled more than $9 million from other funds into the nursing center by the end of 2023 and budgeted $2.5 million for the facility in 2024, according to county documents.

The nursing center’s community liaison will be paid a maximum of $80,000, unless the board approves a higher pay. Although that salary was not initially included in DeKalb County’s current budget, Jordan Healthcare Group – a consulting firm hired by DeKalb County to create a business plan for the facility – thinks the position is worth the salary.

The goal is for the position to more than triple the number of admissions the building receives per month, the agency has said.

The liaison will work directly with potential residents and their families as they complete the documentation required to facilitate billing and collection efforts, according to county documents.

In July 2022, when the DeKalb County Board voted to enter into the now defunct sale contract with Evanston-based Illuminate H.C., officials alleged that the center had been mismanaged for years and that billing and collection efforts had fallen by the wayside.

The head of the DeKalb County Republican Party, County Board member Tim Bagby, said he was convinced by county officials that the new position will benefit the county.

“I’m a little hesitant to put money into something that’s non-nursing, but this position, according to what the director just said, according to what the chair of the oversight committee had to say about it, there does seem to be a return on investment on the position,” the District 3 board member said, before noting that county officials still do accounting work for the facility.