Good News for Our St. Croix County Health Care Campus
This letter to the editor, by Celeste Koeberl, appeared in the Hudson Star Observer on September 5, 2024.
On August 27 the St. Croix County Board got good news about our St. Croix County Health Care Campus in New Richmond:
Our Health Care Campus provides 5-star rated, affordable, and local services for our elderly, disabled, or healing relatives and neighbors, including rehabilitation, assisted-living, and skilled-nursing care.
Our Health Care Campus operations have a strong history of revenues exceeding expenses. Since year-two of its 2016 opening, revenues received from private payers, Medicare, and Medicaid in payments for services provided have exceeded operating expenses.
Demand for services our Health Care Campus provides is growing—only 3 of its 58 assisted-living beds in Orchard View Terrace are available—and demand will increase as our community population ages.
Our Health Care Campus was just awarded $750,000 in American Rescue Plan Act funding for a much needed “dementia crisis stabilization” unit within the Kitty Rhodes Memorial Memory Care Center—this will be only the second of its kind in Wisconsin—and providing this new service will further enhance positive operating cash flow.
Projected future positive cash flows for Health Care Campus operations suggest it may contribute to debt service payments on the facility’s 2015 and 2016 construction loans, too.
On August 27 the St. Croix County Board unanimously voted to not pursue selling our Health Care Campus. One of three options in the “10 Year Review – Health Care Campus” report presented to the Board was “Explore Selling the Facility”, but instead the Board chose “Keep the Facility – Implement New Strategies”.
Next, on Tuesday Sept. 17 at 5 p.m., the Administration Committee is expected to make a recommendation about the future of our Health Care Campus.
Then on Tuesday Oct. 1, the St. Croix County Board will again consider the future of our Health Care Campus; first, at its 3:30 p.m. Committee of the Whole meeting, and then once more at its 5 p.m. regular meeting.
Tell your County Supervisor their vote to not sell our Health Care Campus is right. Also tell them now is the time to make a long-term commitment to keep it county-owned and operated, and to invest in it for the long-term.