Hi-Line Retirement Center currently tackling the challenges of low nursing home census numbers

Currently Hi-Line Retirement Center is tackling and addressing the numerous challenges a lower than normal nursing home census brings with it. The Board, Administration and all of the staff at HLRC are working hard and diligently to identify any and all creative solutions to affect change on both the revenue and expense side of this equation to continue to be viable, sustainable and keep providing quality long term care each and every day to the residents of our community.

The revenue side of the equation is completely driven by the facility’s census numbers, which is an unknown and uncontrollable factor. HLRC works to encourage, retain and/or attract people back to our community to meet their Long term health care needs. However, the current monthly Nursing Home census is at 35 residents, Assisted Living at nine units and Independent Senior Living Apartments full at six. Historically, over the past nine years Hi-Line Retirement Center has been in operation, the average monthly census numbers have been; Nursing Home residents at 40, Assisted Living units at 11 and Apartments at six. In the past four to six months HLRC has sustained lower than normal/average census numbers and with the census numbers being the uncontrolled driving force behind the actual revenue of the facility, one can hopefully see how this poses many challenges for the Board, Administration and our entire staff to manage. HLRC has been working painstakingly to adjust and manage this appropriately, efficiently and effectively, but we now realize our efforts aren’t enough under the circumstances. Being an important part of our communities infrastructure and having some advantages of being a tax exempt, non-profit 501(c)3 organization we are striving to think creatively and outside the box to find potential opportunities and or partners to increase census and generate cash and revenue. Our primary goal is to achieve a long term, as well as a short term solution, to stabilize HLRC financially so we can continue to be here for our community providing quality long term health care as well as for our employees.

On the expense side of the equation, Hi-Line Retirement Center and all its’ departments monitor and manage all expenses within their control. They run pretty lean in all areas, so when it comes to identifying solutions there are not a lot of changes that can be made to off-set the sustained or rapid decrease in census created on the revenue side of the equation. However, even though there does not seem to be a lot of opportunity, the facility continues to look at and make the necessary changes to affect any and all expense saving strategies that won’t affect the quality care and services Hi-Line Retirement Center provides today and will continue to provide into the future.

The challenges Hi-Line Retirement Center is facing right now are directly related to historical and current census numbers within the facility, but we firmly believe we can all work together towards a solution to remain viable and sustainable now and into the future. Our number one priority, which has always been and will continue to be, is to continue to provide quality long term healthcare services to our residents and community. We believe that out of challenges come opportunities to learn, grow and improve and that is exactly what HLRC plans on doing as well as continuing to make a difference in healthcare right here in Malta and Phillips County.

If you have any questions, please call Ward C. VanWichen, CEO at 654-1100 extension 5116 or call into What’s Happening on Thursday, February 5 at 10:10 a.m.