May 15, 2018
Dear friend,
Tonight the Champaign County Board’s Committee of the Whole will be meeting at 6:30 p.m. at Brookens Administrative Center.
This is a great opportunity to come out and to speak during Public Participation to let County Board Members know that you oppose the sale of Champaign County Nursing Home (CCNH) to the proposed buyer – Altitude Health and Extended Care Clinical, LLC. The County Board will vote on the sale of the CCNH next week, on Thursday, May 24. However, tonight is an important opportunity to speak publicly and on record.
You can also contact your County Board members by phone or by e-mail to let them know you oppose the sale of Champaign County Nursing Home to this buyer.
What we are asking the County Board to do, and why: Given the concerns that exist about the current bidder for the CCNH, and the need for more information, we are asking the County Board to simply pause, or slow down, and not rush into the sale of CCNH to this buyer. There are other developments that are promising for the CCNH, and these should be allowed some time. In addition, there are serious concerns about the pricing of CCNH as listed by the brokerage firm, Marcus & Millichap. Also, the $11 million asking price, set by Marcus & Millichap, is not enough to resolve the debt. There are enough concerns to ask the County Board to pause and slow down, rather than rushing ahead with the sale of CCNH to this buyer.
Below is information on:
- Tonight’s County Board Committee of the Whole Meeting (address, time, etc.)
- How to contact your County Board Members
- Research on nursing homes owned by this buyer
1. Tonight’s County Board Committee of the Whole Meeting – Come speak out!
The sale of CCNH is not on the agenda for tonight’s Committee of the Whole Meeting, but we expect that there will be a lot of public participation – people speaking in favor of the sale, and against the sale of the CCNH. If you would like to make a statement, please do so! Please be sure to read the rest of this email in order to see research on the proposed buyer and why CCHCC is opposing this sale. Here are the details for tonight’s meeting:
WHAT: Champaign County Board Committee of the Whole Meeting
WHEN: Tuesday, May 15, 2018 at 6:30 p.m.
WHERE: Brookens Administrative Center, Lyle Shields Meeting Room
1776 E. Washington Street, Urbana
AGENDA:
https://www.champaigncountyclerk.com/countyboard/meetings/2018_meetings/docs/agendas/05_15_2018_agenda.pdf [1]
2. How to contact your County Board Members TODAY!
Please call or e-mail your County Board Members to let them know that you oppose the sale of the Champaign County Nursing Home to the current proposed buyer, given their track record (read sections below for more information). Champaign County can do better than this!
County Board members are under tremendous pressure to sell now, and to sell to this sole bidder because of the County’s finances. The financial strain is real, and the pressure is very intense. However, rejecting this bid does not mean that the County cannot work with its brokers to solicit other bids in the near future.
- List of Champaign County Board Members with contact information (find your County Board Members on this list, and call or e-mail them TODAY):
http://www.co.champaign.il.us/CountyBoard/pdf/cbmembers.pdf [2] - Not sure which County Board District you live in and who your County Board Members are?You can look at an Interactive County Map to find your County Board District!Instructions:
- Go here to find the map: http://ccgisc.maps.arcgis.com/apps/Viewer/index.html?appid=51e691d42c09476f994d1721b0a199ac [3]
- On the right side of the map, there is a box that says “Layers”; click the box next to “County Board Districts”
- Then click on the map in the area near where you live, and give the map a moment to expand so you can see more detail. County Board Districts are listed with the initials “CB” followed by the number of the district, and that is how you know which district you are in.
- Once you figure out your district, you can go to the list of County Board members listed in A. above, and find your County Board members and contact them.
- Message when you call or e-mail: Let your County Board member know that you know that there are a lot of financial pressures on the County Board, but that they should not sell the Champaign County Nursing Home to this buyer, given their track record (see information below). Tell them that the County Board needs to slow down on the sale, and should re-examine the way the nursing home was priced to ensure that the County is not under-valuing our public asset in a rush to sell.
3. Research on nursing homes owned by this buyer
CCHCC continues to do research on this buyer and will keep you updated on what we find.
Last week, we sent an e-mail with some preliminary research we had conducted and what we’ve found. You can view that research and the links here:
https://www.healthcareconsumers.org/special-county-board-meeting-research-on-buyer/ [4]
If this was not enough to raise some questions:
List of 10 Worst Owners:
Please note that Avi Rothner is actually William Rothner. Here he is listed as William. His name is William “Avi” Rothner.
http://www.chicagoreporter.com/ten-worst-owners/ [5]
In addition, we have found the following on Extended Care Clinical, LLC’s homes:
St. James Manor & Villas – wrongful death lawsuit:
https://cookcountyrecord.com/stories/510635220-son-alleges-wrongful-death-in-mother-s-nursing-home-treatment [6]
Beecher Manor Nursing & Rehabiliation Center – negligence leading to death lawsuit:
https://cookcountyrecord.com/stories/510704254-estate-blames-nursing-care-facility-for-patient-s-death [7]
Park House Rehabilitation Center – wrongful death lawsuit:
https://cookcountyrecord.com/stories/511308504-park-house-nursing-and-rehabilitation-center-others-sued-for-patient-s-deat [8]h
Rainbow Beach Nursing Center articles in Chicago Tribune:
Nursing home sexual violence: 86 Chicago cases since July 2007 — but only 1 arrest – Chicago Tribune 1/26/2010: http://www.chicagotribune.com/lifestyles/health/ct-met-nursing-home-rape-20100126-story.html [9]
Nursing home raids net 8 arrests – Chicago Tribune 1/27/2010: http://www.chicagotribune.com/lifestyles/health/ct-met-nursing-home-raids-20100126-story.html [10]
Beleaguered nursing home manages to expel 2 state monitors – Chicago Tribune 4/16/12: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-met-rainbow-beach-20120416-story.html [11]
One facility’s record of alleged violence – Chicago Tribune 4/16/12: http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-04-16/news/ct-met-rainbow-nursing-home-timeline-20120416_1_sexual-assault-rainbow-beach-care-center-facility-attorney [12]
Chicago nursing homes: Slaying of nursing-home resident in nearby motel shows how violence can spill into neighborhoods – Chicago Tribune 12/1/09: http://www.chicagotribune.com/lifestyles/health/chi-uptown-edgewaterdec01-story.html [13]
Extended Care’s Northlake, IN nursing home shut down:
“In signing the order, the Health Department’s Long Term Care Division Director Kim Rhoades and Indiana Assistant Health Commissioner Terry Whitson cited Northlake’s failure to maintain its license and the results of a Dec. 16 survey that found substandard quality of care and patients in immediate jeopardy at the facility.”
http://www.wdrb.com/story/11927367/indiana-closes-troubled-nursing-home [15]
Rothner’s Somerset nursing home in Chicago, Illinois shut down:
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2010-03-09/news/ct-met-nursing-home-reform-20100308_1_care-centers-nursing-transfers [16]
What about another county nursing home that Rothner bought (also brokered by Marcus & Millichap)?
This article seems to indicate that Pima County used the same broker as Champaing County – Marcus & Millichap – and there were some concerns, given the primacy of the Rothner bid, compared to other bids.
The story about Pima County’s public nursing home, Posada del Sol, which Avi Rothner bought in 2011/2012 became more significant to me after our County Board meeting where Avi Rothner, presented along with Amy Fish, the Nebraska nursing home administrator.
Here she is in the story: “The county then sent Pat Wilson, Posada del Sol’s administrator, and Amy Fish, special staff assistant for the office of the assistant county administrator for health policy, to Nebraska for site visits of two properties. This included Lancaster Rehabilitation Center, a facility that Hunter’s LLC bid on last year from Lancaster County.”
https://www.tucsonweekly.com/tucson/under-sold/Content?oid=3151439 [17]
What happened with Posada Del Sol, Pima County’s nursing home?
Pima County’s nursing home was sold in 2012: http://www.pima.gov/depts/posada.html [18]
Rothner was the buyer: http://tucson.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/county-s-sale-of-nursing-home-prompts-suit/article_093136be-649e-513d-8a6f-6fd823c35706.html [19]
And the home was denied Medicare or Medicaid payments by the government in 2016:
“Penalties:
This nursing home paid 1 fine in the last three years totaling $9,230. This home was denied Medicare or Medicaid payments by the government on 2016-02-19.”
https://health.usnews.com/best-nursing-homes/area/az/foothills-rehabilitation-center-035064 [20]
Please stay tuned for more important information about the Champaign County Nursing Home and the bid to purchase it.
Thank you for your activism to help protect Champaign County’s public assets!
Sincerely,
Claudia Lennhoff
Executive Director
Champaign County Health Care Consumers