The Worth County Convalescent Center board awarded bids for the heating and cooling project which will replace the original boiler system that was put in when the WCCC opened in 1970. Board member Anthony Steinhauser, who initially had reservations about the winning bid, said that those issues were resolved and said that it would pay for itself in cost savings for the facility. Specifically, board member Becky Baker said that the WCCC could do more because they wouldn't have to worry about having to save up money in case the old boiler went out. There were other systems that were higher efficiency, but both Steinhauser and board member Brian Hall said that they had more parts in them, meaning that they were more likely to break down in the future.
The board awarded the bid in two parts. Awarded the bid for the heating system was American Boiler Company for $59,950 with Duane Warner to supervise the installation of the system. This will be paid for with voter-approved revenues that had been saved up over the last few years since the passage of the levy. Work on the project will begin next summer.
For the cooling system, the board awarded Warner Brothers Electric the project; they will put in a cooling system for a price of $114,240. Rooms will be done individiually with the dining area. Board President Scott Houk said that if finances were tighter than expected, this means that they could hold off on work until the situation improved. It will be paid for out of savings plus next year's tax revenues, which will bring in approximately $77,000. Price tag for both systems will total around $174,190.
Administrator Karen Fletchall reported that nobody came to the Family Council meeting and that they were in the process of trying to start up another one. Houk said that he encouraged people to be a part, saying that meant there was good and bad news. The good news for Houk was that there were no serious problems. But Houk said that people shouldn't feel like they had to have a serious problem with the facility before they joined.
Fletchall reported that the WCCC also will move cabinetry at the nurses station, saying that it would allow nursing staff to use the station to fill out confidential patient reports instead of having to do it out in the dining area. Among other changes that are coming, Fletchall said that she eventually wanted to replace the original alarm system, which she says is too abrasive and that she was looking into setting up a paging system that she said would be less invasive to patients. Currently, she said that the alarm system as set up now was interrupting things such as church services and dining.
Fletchall reported that she was still in the process of updating the policy manual, saying that the plan was to get all board-approved policies in one place for easy reference. Steinhauser said that he got questions all the time, saying that people would always bring up policies that previous boards had approved in the past. Board member Becky Baker said that it was a good idea because they wanted to know what they could and couldn't do. Houk said that it was also a good idea to help the board understand what needed board approval and what was best left up to the administration.
The board approved the resident transportation policy as presented last month. Scheduled group outings would be free of charge while individual outings would be charged for the driver, mileage, and a companion. Fletchall said that as a matter of practice, the facility would bend over backwards to learn what the routines of residents were when they first came to the facility so that they could keep their old routines as much as possible. She said that they would make every effort to accomplish this. She said that this policy was above and beyond what other facilities were doing for their residents and that it was a good idea to have a policy in place to cover various situations that could come up. "A lot will depend on whether we can find a driver," said Fletchall. "We will bend over backwards to try and make something happen for you. But if we can't find a driver, I can't make it work."
At the request of Board Member Becky Baker, the board went into closed session to discuss an employee matter.
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