Uncertainties remain after Urbana nursing home closure plans disclosed

Apr. 21—URBANA — Now that the owners of the former Champaign County Nursing Home have filed a plan with the state to close the facility, it's unclear what the next step will be for county officials — or even whether there will be a next step.

The nursing home at 500 S. Art Bartell Road, U, which has operated as University Rehabilitation Center of C-U since the county sold it in 2019 — has launched a 60-day process to voluntarily close as of June 17.

County officials have received a formal notice of the impending closure of the facility commonly known as University Rehab.

"My understanding is that we're consulting with legal counsel at this point," County Executive Steve Summers said Thursday.

He referred inquiries to county board Chairman Kyle Patterson, who said, "We still have a lot to figure out before next steps at this point."

The closure notice cites declining demand for beds, shorter post-acute stays and a low Medicaid reimbursement rate as contributing factors in the decision to close.

"Trends indicate that our seniors are staying home longer, with those discharged from the hospital returning home and receiving outpatient services or home health," the notice states.

Illinois Department of Public Health spokesman Mike Claffey said the state will be working with the owners of University Rehab leading up to the closure.

The state doesn't have the authority to stop a nursing home facility from closing, he said.

"We will be working with them until their effective closing date of June 17 to ensure the safety during the closing process of their residents and also to make sure they are aware of options for obtaining care in the area," he said.

Nursing home owner William "Avi" Rothner has been in touch with county officials since last fall, asking the county board to waive a restrictive covenant in the sales agreement that requires the facility to remain in operation as a nursing home until 2028.

Rothner indicated he has a prospective buyer who wants to operate a substance-abuse treatment center at that location.

The county board said no to that request last year, and at a session in March listened to another pitch from Rothner, but responded only by asking for some financial documentation.

The closure notice states the facility will assist all current residents with safe transfer to another facility of their choice.

"The facility's owners made the difficult decision to close after completing an analysis of the marketplace in Urbana and the surrounding community," the notice states. "This analysis revealed that there are three nursing facilities within five miles and 11 facilities within 25 miles of Urbana. Facility occupancy has been steadily declining over the last three years, with the facility approximately 65 percent empty at this time."

Champaign County Health Care Consumers Executive Director Claudia Lennhoff said she planned to look into whether there's any opportunity for the public to intervene in the closure plan.

But one action her organization is taking immediately is preparing information for residents of University Rehab and their family members to help guide them in the process of selecting a different facility.

Her big concern is what options University Rehab residents and their families will have in Champaign County — largely Champaign-Urbana Nursing and Rehab in Savoy and Illini Heritage Rehab and Healthcare, Champaign, both given the lowest single-star rating by Medicare, and the higher-rated Country Health Care & Rehab in Gifford.

University Rehab, itself, is currently classified by Medicare as a "special focus facility" due to a history of quality issues, meaning it's subject to more frequent inspections, escalating penalties and potential termination from Medicare and Medicaid.

Lennhoff said it's important for nursing and rehab patients to be in facilities close to their loved ones, so they can have visitors and family members checking up on them several times a week.

"The farther away people are moved, the harder that's going to be for their loved ones," she said.

According to Lennhoff, Rothner will have been directly responsible for the loss of 463 nursing home beds in Champaign County when University Rehab closes.

Rothner and members of his family also purchased, then subsequently closed, two other nursing homes in Champaign: the former Helia Healthcare of Champaign and the former Heartland of Champaign nursing homes.

"That's three institutions in four years of him being in our community," Lennhoff said. "This is staggering."

In information Rothner sent to the county board in the past month, he said the Helia and Heartland facilities together were purchased for $2.9 million, sold for a total $4.7 million, but lost $3 million in operations.

"We did not make money in these transitions. However we did hope and believe that by taking these difficult but necessary actions, patients from these closed facilities would flow to the most-recently purchased building, University Rehab," Rothner said. "This would maintain and grow occupancy and stabilize operations."

In some of the other information Rothner sent the county board, he said wages have risen since 2019 due to COVID-19, inflation, low local unemployment and scarcity of available workers.

Numerous bonuses were provided to retain and recruit new employees, including bonuses for referrals, sign-on, attendance, COVID-19, working extra shifts and longevity plus discretionary bonuses, all totaling $1.5 million.