.jpg)
LAUREL – The City of Laurel is looking to sell Hillcrest Care Center.
Dan Kuhlman, city administrator and economic development coordinator, said in a news release issued Monday that representatives from Accura Healthcare, West Des Moines, Iowa, has shown interest in purchasing the facility and will be touring it on Thursday.
Although there are no guaranteed outcomes to this process, the city said in its news release, that it is hopeful.
The potential acquisition of Hillcrest by Accura represents both the City of Laurel’s and Accura’s commitment to providing quality healthcare for the elderly in Laurel and the surrounding area, the news release said.
Both organizations are planning to hold staff meetings and conversations with residents and their families in the coming weeks to ensure transparency, the news release said.
The facility has been the center of a months-long public conflict between Hillcrest Care Center staff and the city over staff’s unwillingness to work with Hillcrest Nursing Center Administrator Megan Wieck and allegations made about mismanagement of funds.
Meanwhile, another nurse has resigned at the city-owned nursing home and residents are looking for placements elsewhere while the facility administrator’s professional license is under investigation.
Community members indicated Mayor Keith Knudsen moved family members out of Hillcrest Care Center more than a week ago. Community members reported seeing Knudsen and his wife moving boxes out of the nursing home Feb. 15.
On social media, there’s been a flurry of comments accusing Knudsen of personally benefitting from knowing more information about the Hillcrest situation than was being made public.
Knudsen did not respond to specific questions from the Laurel Advocate about these allegations.
Wendy Krei, registered nurse at Hillcrest, said to expect additional resignations.
“It sets this place apart being community owned. That’s the one thing everybody was holding on to, that the quality of care means more than the bottom dollar,” she said. “This takes everything we stood for away.”
Krei said now that it’s public the city wants to find a buyer for the nursing home, it makes more sense how the dire financial situation has been ignored by the mayor and council.
Publicly, the city has minimized Hillcrest Care Center’s financial woes while at the same time an impassioned nursing home staff organizes public meetings and petitions in an effort to save the nursing home from closing.
On Jan. 24, the city council unanimously approved a new $180,000 line of credit from Security Bank, Laurel, for one year, so that Hillcrest Care Center could cover payroll.
A document was circulated by Hillcrest staff detailing the city-owned facility’s financial obligations swelling year over year to more than $450,000 in accounts deemed open payables - in other words, unpaid bills.
The bills continue to go unpaid despite an increasing line of credit to its current $500,000 - provided by Security Bank, where Mayor Knudsen is the president.
The city said the document circulated at the council meeting doesn’t give the full financial picture and didn’t include accounts receivable information. Instead, the city said Hillcrest’s working capital deficit is $66,385.
Meanwhile, Wieck as the facility administrator decides which vendors get paid. As a result of non-payment, many vendors have stopped doing business with the facility including staffing agencies and supply companies, staff said.
Community members have said they would help the center financially if the facility administrator was removed.
Wieck was hired in 2022 at an annual salary of $65,000. Currently, she makes $120,000 annually. She previously worked at Elms Health Care Center in Ponca. That facility closed Nov. 17, 2023.
According to her contract, she is to report directly to the Laurel city council.
The Nebraska Department of Labor has issued citations against the City of Laurel for violation of the Wage Payment and Collection Act, which the city can appeal.
Currently, there are 15 residents receiving care at the 36-bed skilled nursing facility, Krei said.
Staff said they brought their concerns of financial instability and administrative mismanagement to light about two years ago to the seven-member nursing home advisory board. After the board started questioning the facility administrator, the council and mayor, the nursing home board was dissolved in May 2024. In its place, the mayor and city council were tasked with overseeing the center’s operations, governance and administration.
Community members have said the staff is providing excellent care - “five stars” despite current working conditions that they call toxic.
“We have something awesome,” Krei said. “This is unique to have so many dedicated staff members, and the feel of it, the warm, fuzzy home like feeling here ... It is like a family. They (residents) are like our second family.”
