Arthur nursing home to close by the end of the year

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By Marty Yeakel

The Board of Directors at the Arthur Nursing Home, a skilled nursing facility, recently announced that the Home will be closing. A letter was sent to those affected and shares how this “decision has not been made lightly but is unfortunately unavoidable given the circumstances we face.”

The main reasons for this decision being, “The rising costs of healthcare, coupled with hospitals discharging patients prematurely and the insufficient coverage from insurance companies, have created insurmountable financial challenges. The State of Illinois has failed to provide meaningful support or solutions to address these systemic issues, thereby contributing to the current crisis.”

The letter goes on to say, “We have always taken pride in the care and the positive environment we fostered and we are proud of the reputation we built for excellence. We remain committed to our residents and their families during this period and we will continue to provide support during this transition.”

Board member John Stewart shared more background and what those involved have been dealing with and stated that, “since COVID, it’s been a negative playing field for nursing homes in general for the state of Illinois and we’ve been running short while costs rise. Labor, decreased payouts from the state for Medicare and managed care plans have all added to the shortfall and you can only run under those circumstances (in the red) for so long. We’re at the point where you just can’t keep doing it forever.” He also noted that there have been a couple of benefactors who have been very generous and have kept things going but that is just no longer a sustainable way of doing things.

When asked about the number of residents, Stewart noted that in recent times there were 47 residents with 53 beds. They had hoped that more residents might be a solution but then that means more staffing and more costs and with the state being deficient in their funding, costs add up quickly and it just did not work as hoped. As of late, the number of residents has decreased to the mid 30s.

He also stated that the Arthur Home is a not-for-profit entity and was not deficient in any way with the state, the care was not lacking, and bankruptcy is not being declared. The board of directors had involved consultants who have said expenses were not out of line. The Arthur Home, unlike so many of these facilities, has been able to remain independent, but being part of a corporation is not an answer as those are struggling too with the same issues.

As for staffing, the 70 employed on the nursing home side will gradually be laid off. However, some of those 70 people include janitorial and dining room staff who also serve the assisted living side of Eberhardt Village. As long as residents remain, staffing will be maintained to serve them as needed. The target date for closing the Arthur Home is somewhere between Dec. 20 and the first of the year.

As for Eberhardt Village, the assisted living side, 29 of the 33 apartments are filled. The assisted living staff will not be affected.

There are no definite plans for the Arthur Nursing Home but one possibility may be to create more assisted living space, which may not look exactly like the current assisted living apartments. Some remodeling would be done with, for example, kitchenettes added to the rooms. The board is looking at this as an, “Opportunity down the road to expand assisted living and independent living, handle the changeover, get on solid financial footing and go from there without having to deal with a deficit each month.”

Stewart said, “We realize it’s hard on everybody. Residents, families, staff. We tried to give it a runway as long as we could.” He also said that the board felt, “It’s the right thing to do. It’s Arthur. We want to be up front. The hope at this point is to remain viable to serve the community in the best way possible.”