Public hearing on DeKalb County Rehab and Nursing Center set for Tuesday

DeKALB – The latest step needed to finalize a sale of the DeKalb County Rehabilitation and Nursing Center will take place on Tuesday in DeKalb, as the DeKalb County government awaits state OK for the plan, already approved by the DeKalb County Board.

The Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board is holding a public hearing in DeKalb regarding the sale of the DeKalb County Rehab and Nursing Center to a private buyer.

The hearing is scheduled – in accordance with the requirements of the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Act – for 1 p.m. on Tuesday on the second floor of the DeKalb Police Department, 700 W. Lincoln Highway, in the Community Room, according to a memorandum put out by the Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board.

The public hearing is a part of the process required for the review board to award a healthcare facility a Certificate of Need – the final step left before DeKalb County can officially hand over ownership of the long-time county owned rehab and nursing center.

“Whenever an application is submitted to the board, an opportunity for a public hearing is offered. That allows – and one of the most important functions, I think of this board is to notify the public of potential changes to their community health and assets, for which this county nursing home is “ Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board Administrator John Kniery said. “The public has reached out to the board, saying they have concerns and would like to voice those concerns. So a public hearing will be held on July 11 in the community.”

In July 2022, after an 11-11 split bipartisan vote shot down a referendum regarding the county owned health facility for the second time in four months, the DeKalb County Board voted to initiate a sale with Evanston-based private buyer Illuminate HC.

The center – which has been the subject of more than a year of fiscal debate – faces more than $7 million in debt because of what county officials have alleged was mismanagement, delinquent billing and ailing resident numbers. County officials have maintained a sale was necessary to stem the cash flow issues at the home.

In April 2023 county officials learned members of the leadership team from the only other company to bid on the facility – Skokie-based Saba Healthcare – had joined forces. Principals from the two companies created DeKalb Healthcare Holdings LLC, records filed online with the Illinois Secretary of State’s office show.

DeKalb County Administrator Brian Gregory said in April Illuminate HC’s intention to bring in Saba’s company leadership doesn’t change the status of the aagreements the county made for the pending sale of the facility.

DeKalb County Board Chair Suzanne Willis, a Democrat from District 10, said in April she thinks the decision to bring in Saba Healthcare’s principals was done in good faith.

DeKalb Healthcare Holdings LLC and DeKalb County have agreed the limited liability company will cover up to $200,000 of county losses at the financially-beleaguered nursing center each month starting in August if the state hasn’t signed the final papers to move the sale forward.

The public hearing is among the last orders of business before the Certificate of Need can be approved and signed. It’s also the last opportunity for those impacted by the sale to share what they think.

Dawn Graves, of Sycamore, said she plans on attending the hearing. Her mother currently lives at the center. Graves said she, along with her family, are trying to block the purchase because of the Saba Healthcare leadership, alleging the company doesn’t have the best care history.

“We we were told that the County would not sell to this company because of their poor ratings and reviews,” Graves wrote to the Daily Chronicle.

Despite Graves’ wishes, according to the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Act – which governs the Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board – there’s not much the review board can do if DeKalb Healthcare Holdings LLC has done all of the things the law prescribes.

“We are hoping at Tuesdays meeting to bring all this out to the public through the Media outlets. To that end we are hoping to get the review board to deny the certification needed for this sale. We are doing our best to force the County Board to do the right thing for the senior citizens of the county they represent,” Graves wrote.

CLARIFICATION: This story has been updated to reflect that the public hearing is set for Tuesday.