PEORIA, Ill. — Heddington Oaks long-term care is closing.
“None of this action has been done on the fly,” said Andrew Rand, Peoria County Board Chairman.
“This has nothing to do with the COVID crisis. In fact, we probably would have had this conference a month ago had circumstances been different.”
Sharon Williams, County Health Committee Chair, said it’s been a three-year process.
“I believe this committee and its work exhausted every avenue possible to try and right-size the organization, and in the end, there were just too many hurdles to overcome,” she said.
Williams said the committee will be creating a Senior Care Advocate position to be a consultant for families of seniors.
Additionally, she said as the committee transitions out of the business, the committee will be working with families to help them make alternate long-term care arrangements for their loved ones.
Rand said decisions started being made in 2009 about construction of a new facility.
“But we haven’t had the right number of heads and beds to make the program sustainable,” he said, referring to census numbers.
He said a reserve fund has been being used for years to keep the facility running, and has been tapped out.
Between $1.5 and $2.5 million in general fund revenue has been lost over the past seven years.
“Many county governments have been getting out of the skilled care business for years. Peoria has been running counter to that trend,” Rand said.
“We believe we have done our very best to refine our business plan, and still, we have fallen short.
“And so, it’s much regret from the Chairman’s point of view we exit the business.”
Rand said an executive session will be held at 5 P.M. Monday to begin the closure process.
