Maple Lawn official asks county for $250K loan

BRANCH COUNTY — The county-owned Maple Lawn Nursing Facility is in need of an emergency loan from the county for $250,000, but first an agreement needs to be prepared and a formal vote taken. 

Commissioners at their Thursday work session heard the request from Maple Lawn Director Jayne Sabaitis stating it is in need to meet April payroll and bills. The director estimates Maple Lawn would go into May with less than $50,000.

The county must prepare a resolution for the loan to send to the Maple Lawn board to see if they accept the terms the commissions will set out.

Sabaitis said her board won’t meet again until April 27. County Administrator Bud Norman will prepare the document.

Commission Chair Tim Stoll, administrator at the non-profit nursing facility Thurston Wood in Sturgis, asked Sabaitis to prepare a long-term financial plan for the county facility "to adapt to the paradigm shift” occurring in the industry started by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Cash flow issues due to COVID-19 left Maple Lawn nursing care business struggling financially since last summer. 

Sabaitis and her staff have weathered the financial crisis since she first brought the problems to the attention of the county commission last August.

The commission then approved up to a $1 million loan in $250,000 increments “as needed,” pending a November millage election which failed.

Sabaitis said she thought the current $250,000 loan, to come from American Rescue Plan Act federal funding, would give the facility enough money to pay bills through May, “possibly through June, if our (patient) census stays in the 90s or increases as we are hoping to do.”

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During the pandemic in 2021 and 2022, the resident census in the 114-bed nursing home was in the low 80s.

“We are now in the low 90s,” the director told commissioners.

Sabaitis explained staffing controls the number of patients. Like many nursing facilities, Maple Lawn found it challenging to find and retain staff since the pandemic’s start.

Maple Lawn continues to work with community colleges and educators to train certified nursing assistants.

Questioned by commissioners, Sabaitis said 100 patients is break-even for Maple Lawn. To meet federal regulations, Maple Lawn is limited to 101 patients until the end of June.

How the money crisis developed became clearer under questioning by commissioners.

Sabaitis laid the beginning financial problem on the 2016 project to add 31 more private rooms and completely renovate the nursing home. 

Of the nearly $10 million project, Maple Lawn used $1.5 million of its funds for the project.

“When the pandemic hit, we were in a lower cash position than we normally would be,” Sabaitis said.

“If we had known there was going to be a three-year national pandemic, I may not have put that a million and a half dollars into a building project. But who knew,” she said

Because of the pandemic, Medicaid did not figure the additional investments and costs into the 2020 and 2021 cost reimbursement used to pay for patient care.

“We were expecting to make up the cash in our Medicaid rates,” Sabaitis explained. Those rates were not increased.

At the same time, patient counts dropped. At one time during the pandemic, 42 staff were off from COVID-19 infections. That cut into the number of patients and reduced revenues.

The state paid based on past estimated services. Sabaitis came to the commission in August when the state audits showed it overpaid Medicaid $874,976 for 2019 through 2021. The state began to reduce current payments to recoup the overpayment, paying Maple Lawn less money than the facility administration expected to receive.

Since last summer, as the state began to reclaim Medicaid overpayments from past years, Sabaitis negotiated repayment terms.

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In January, the state began to reclaimed $147,000 each month.

“The $147,000 a month payments with the state are significant. Those end in June.” Maple Lawn would not then need additional loans, Sabaitis said, “Hopefully, with my fingers crossed.”

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Special federal funding was available to nursing facilities impacted by COVID-19.

Maple Lawn did not apply until  October. Accountants Plant-Moran filed for $3.6 million in federal COVID-19 employee retention credits.  Maple Lawn did not apply for the funds until October because the facility did not learn until January 2022 that county-owned facilities qualified, Sabaitis said.

Sabaitis told the commissioners, “It is our intention to borrow only what is necessary. When we receive our employment retention credit, it will not be a problem to pay back any amount at any time.”

Federal officials said the claim was received and is in the process, Sabaitis said. Auditors reported those funds could be paid in 12 to 18 months.

Sabaitis contacted Congressman Tim Walberg’s office to see if they could get at least part of the money as soon as possible. 

Commissioner Alan McClelland wanted a plan to show how the county would be paid back if the money did not come through.

“We are continuing to try to cut costs and make it through on our own,” the director said. Maple Lawn faces problems with aging equipment that needs replacing, Sabaitis told commissioners.

Commissioners want a detailed financial plan to explain how the county-owned nursing facility can operate successfully in the future.

---Contact Don Reid: dReid@Gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter: @DReidTDR

This article originally appeared on Coldwater Daily Reporter: Maple Lawn official asks county for $250K loan