x
Breaking News
More () »

RICo board looking at leasing options for Hope Creek

It’s a possible compromise that could save Rock Island County’s Hope Creek nursing home. The new option could keep it county owned. The future of Ho...

It's a possible compromise that could save Rock Island County's Hope Creek nursing home. The new option could keep it county owned.

The future of Hope Creek nursing home is up for a discussion again for the Rock Island County Board. The board created a subcommittee to research new options for keeping the home, county owned, while shoring up its finances.

"We're trying to gather as much information as we can," said Ron Oekle, Rock Island County Board member.

One of the possibilities is looking at an outside agency to run the facility. The company is a consulting and management firm based out of Minneapolis. It also runs another facility in Lake County Illinois, near Chicago.

"They appear to be you know pretty happy with how things are going. So that's one of the things we'll look into," said Oekle about Lake County's nursing home.

However, board members are concerned about what their role would be if they move forward with the partnership.

"We'll get input from the board as far as what we can control and what we should leave up to anyone who would lease the facility," said Oekle.

The board is keeping all their options open to see what  makes sense financially. The county is over a million dollars in debt trying to keep Hope Creek open.

"You can't keep operating a facility at a defecit indefinitely and that's come to the point now. We're going to look into see what we can do to change," said Oekle.

Oekle says he's making sure to keep patient care the board's top priority when making a decision.

"Our main concern is and should be you know that the residents who are there continue to get quality care," said Oekle.

No word on when a decision will be made. Board members say they want a back-up plan by November when voters will decide on a referendum to raise the tax levy for Hope Creek.

Before You Leave, Check This Out