WCCC Board -- WCCC Collects on More Delinquent Accounts

The Worth County Convalescent Center collected additional delinquent payments, the WCCC board learned at their regular meeting last Wednesday. But there were plenty of accounting issues raised at the meeting.

Among issues raised by board members were:
--The bank statement differed from the account sheet that was presented to the board;
--Uniform costs that were listed as expenses. The WCCC deducts uniform expenses from employees' paychecks, meaning that it should not have been listed as an expense.
--Payroll was higher than expected. The WCCC has a nurse that is on medical leave and three aides that quit, meaning more overtime for staff.
--The net income did not agree with the profit/loss sheet; it was off by $40,000. It, along with the bank statement/account sheet discrepancies, were the result of different reports being printed at different times.

The NCA, which now handles much of the billing for the WCCC, takes what is given and bills based on that. They have caught and corrected a few billing errors. But the next step will be to determine what improvements can be made in the accounting and billing processes. Board President Scott Houk said that the present system that is being used was not working and that there were glitches in the balance sheet from day one. There were not as many coding errors following 2010.

Earl Schrock and board member Becky Baker came up with cost estimates for room renovations. The estimate for the 24 double rooms came out to $72,000, or $3,000 per room. This includes labor. Labor will take one week per room and two weeks for each of the main areas. This will include the window costs. The flooring part has gone back to the drawing board; there were gouges in the flooring that they had tried on an experimental basis. Another potential problem was the six-panel doors; the wheelchairs and walkers could potentially create gouges and scrapes in the doors. The facility has received many positive comments about the appearance of the new room, but the question was how it would hold up over time.

The board dealt with areas of agreement on the renovation project first; they voted to bid out new windows. They also voted to purchase cabinetry for the north and east wings since the board is still deciding what to do for the west wing. It will cost an estimated $100,000 to $125,000 when the whole renovation project is completed. The board is still deciding whether to do assisted living or apartments for the west wing as well as working out the logistics of any such move.

The board voted to spend up to $12,416 for a new walk-in tub for the facility.

The board went into closed session at the request of Board Member Jeff Thummel to discuss items protected from public disclosure by law.