County home looks to convert wing for Alzheimer's unit

Sept. 20--NORMAL -- McLean County Nursing Home wants to convert one of its three wings to a unit specializing in care for residents with Alzheimer's disease and other dementia in 2018.

The study is underway because there is a need for skilled care for people with dementia and to help the nursing home to reverse its declining number of residents, nursing home Administrator Cindy Wegner said Tuesday.

"This is in the planning stages," Wegner told The Pantagraph.

Preliminary information was presented to the County Board's health committee this month, the issue came up at the County Board meeting on Tuesday and Wegner hopes to have specific information -- including financial projections -- ready for the health committee next month.

Any plan would need to be approved by the health committee, the County Board and Illinois Department of Public Health.

The nursing home, 901 N. Main St., Normal, is a 150-bed facility with six private rooms and 72 rooms for two residents each. Wegner wants the 50-bed, 200 wing to be converted to a Alzheimer's unit of 26 private rooms.

"We will be providing a service for people on Medicaid and private pay," she said.

Converting the wing to an Alzheimer's unit would include installing new security doors and flooring and creating a secure outdoor space for residents, she said. In addition to building and outdoor space requirements, attaining IDPH designation as an Alzheimer's unit would mean staffing requirements and a vision statement.

"People with dementia require a specific type of care. Without a dementia unit, it's harder to provide care for those residents," said Wegner, who estimated that 60 percent of the nursing home residents have dementia.

"The hope would be to train existing staff with a passion to work in that unit," Wegner said.

Because the nursing home doesn't directly levy taxes for its operations, Wegner believes the conversion can be done without increasing property taxes.

The 2017-2020 Alzheimer's Disease Illinois State Plan reported the need for quality residential care for people with dementia. Two other nursing homes in McLean County already have dedicated Alzheimer's units.

Meanwhile, the county nursing home's number of residents has declined from about 130 in 2013 to 101 on Tuesday, Wegner said.

The nursing home offers skilled care and Wegner blamed the census drop on an increasing number of people opting for assisted living or remaining in their homes, the nursing home not being a member of either Bloomington-Normal hospital's skilled care network and a perception of some county residents that the nursing home is an older facility for poor people.

"Because we are the county home, some people think we are 'the public aid home' but we have residents who are on Medicare, Medicaid or private pay," she said.

Wegner is working on getting the nursing home qualified for the hospitals' skilled care networks and on upgrades to the facility.

"To me, it's all about the care, services and therapy you provide," she said.

Follow Paul Swiech on Twitter: @pg_swiech

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