Northome nursing facility to close

Gail Sheridan, a representative of Tealwood Senior Living which manages the Northome center, told the county board this week that closure is imminent and the sale of the beds would assist the center in its closure plans.

The board tabled action on the request, with commissioners saying they wanted to explore other options.

Commissioner Mike Hanson told the board the request and planned closure of the Northome facility was a difficult issue. Hanson said he’s met with members of the Northome City Council, county Public Health Department Director Susan Congrave and administration of the Northome facility about the issue.

Hanson said he wished the financial concerns of the facility had been raised earlier “to see if we can help.”

Sheridan said the planned closure was not an easy decision. “The sad news is the demographics just aren’t there,” she said, explaining that the 36-bed facility has regularly housed about 23 residents. “It’s been a steady haemorrhaging loss for the facility.”

She said efforts, including establishing a memory care unit, didn’t help.

“At the end of the day, we can’t sustain it any longer,” she said. “We won’t be able to pay our bills and employees.”

Sale of the beds to the Ramsey County facility would allow the Northome facility to pay its debt service on the building and work with staff on relocation.

“We have not given a closure notice, but we have told staff that closure is imminent, with or without the sale of the beds,” she said.

The state has a moratorium on establishing new skilled nursing facility beds, and without the purchase, Sheridan said she fears the 23 beds requested by the Ramsey County facility will be withdrawn by the state and then be unavailable to any facilities in the state.

Hanson said he’s unsure if there are enough long-term care beds available in the area, and Adam Coe, administrator of the Good Samaritan Society – International Falls, confirmed that the Falls facility will reduce the number of skilled nursing beds with completion of its new facility that will include an assisted living unit.

Sheridan said she’d be interested in selling the remaining skilled nursing care beds from the Northome facility to Good Samaritan or the Blackduck nursing home.

Commissioner Rob Ecklund, who made the motion to table action on the request for support of the bed sale, said commissioners other than Hanson, had just received information about the issue Friday.

Sheridan urged the board to provide support for the sale and said she’s unsure whether a deadline for the sale of the beds was still in place.

“I don’t have the authority to extend (the past deadline) and I don’t want the Episcopal offer to go away,” Sheridan told the board.

Sheridan was unavailable after the meeting to answer additional questions about the closure plan or the price that the Ramsey County facility would pay for each of the 23 beds it has requested to purchase.

In other business this week, the county board approved a contract with Federal Advocates on behalf of the Highway 53 Improvement Task Force for lobbyist services beginning Jan. 1. The contract will run on a month-to-month basis at $1,00 per month.

The current contract with Federal Advocates cost $12,000, with funding for the 2012 contract equally shared by St. Louis and Koochiching counties and the city of International Falls.

International Falls city councilors last week indicated they would not renew the contract with Federal Advocates and instead fold the Highway 53 lobbying efforts into a contract with another lobbying service.

Task Force Chairman Bob Anderson, who is also International Falls mayor elect, recommended the county board continue the lobbying services with Federal Advocates to secure the necessary funding for additional improvements, including turning and passing lanes from Cook to International Falls, to Highway 53.