A year after Lake County hired a private company to run the Libertyville nursing facility Winchester House, leaders say operations are running smoothly — despite criticisms from the state and the co-chairwoman of the residents council.
“Overall, between Lake County and our team … we’re extremely pleased up and down the board,” said Craig Abbott, CEO of Health Dimensions Group, a Minnesota-based company Lake County hired Dec. 1, 2011 to run Winchester House.
When county officials approved the transition, they set goals for Health Dimensions Group, including to reconnect Winchester House with area organizations and hospitals, enhance programs and provide quality care. Assistant County Administrator Ryan Waller said the new operators have already met or are on their way to meeting many of those goals.
Abbott and Waller said the results of a survey of Winchester House residents, residents’ family members and staff show a facility that is serving the community well.
The survey, which Waller said is given to thousands of nursing homes across the country, showed satisfaction with Winchester House among 77 percent of residents, 75 percent of employees and 91 percent of residents’ family members. Those numbers exceed national averages, Abbott said.
In the past year, Winchester House’s occupancy numbers have increased, Abbott said. The facility averages 175 to 180 residents per day, he said. The number of residents “had dipped to the 150, 155 range,” Abbott said.
He also said 95 percent of Winchester House employees were retained after the management transition. Health Dimensions Group has pushed to rely less on temporary agency staff and hire trained staff workers, he added.
Ten-year resident Monica Behnke, co-chairwoman of the Residents Council of Winchester House, said there’s much to like about living there: The food is good, the facility is clean, and activities are abundant. But she said some aspects have not improved.
“They are short-staffed, especially on weekends,” Behnke said. She said residents sometimes wait 45 minutes before a nurse responds to a call for assistance, a sign that the facility needs more employees. Even a few more part-time workers to fill in for vacationing full-time staff would go a long way, she said.
Meanwhile, the Illinois Department of Health and Human Services issued a report Oct. 25 regarding a complaint that a 52-year-old resident of Winchester House with multiple mental conditions and a history of removing his clothes was seen Oct. 16 naked from the waist down at the bedside of a woman who was partially undressed. The report also stated the man was involved in other disturbances around the facility.
“There was no comprehensive care plan developed with interventions specific to (the man’s) wandering behavior, despite the fact that nursing notes clearly reflect this behavior,” the report states.
Abbott said Winchester House officials “self reported” the matter about the 52-year-old to the state, and it has since been resolved. The man has been transferred to another facility to care for his specific needs, he said.
In its annual licensure and certification survey for Winchester House issued Oct. 1, the Department of Health and Human Services identified 14 requirements the facility did not meet, including failing to notify residents about their health status, care and treatments; not properly managing patients’ drug regimens; and failing to safely storing, preparing and serving food.
Waller and Abbott said they take the state’s reports seriously, and state officials found in a subsequent inspection that the facility issues had been rectified.
The transition to private operations also has saved the county money, Waller said. Health Dimensions Group was under budget by the end of October and was on track to save the county $1.6 million over the previous year.