Consultant set to guide Winchester House replacement
Consultants familiar with Lake County's Winchester House nursing home are set to assist officials in replacing the struggling facility with a more specialized operation.
The county board's health and community services committee on Tuesday agreed to hire St. Louis-based Management Performance Associates to help guide the county's plan to scrap Winchester House and build a smaller, skilled nursing facility.
The firm will help hire an architect, engineers and other professionals, Senior Assistant County Administrator Dusty Powell said. It also will monitor the project's finances and help develop a transitional plan, Powell said.
The contract, which awaits approval by the full county board next week, calls for the firm to be paid $565,000 plus expenses estimated at $50,000.
The county's plan calls for construction of a roughly 175-bed facility -- much smaller than the current 360-bed complex. The new building would be off Winchester Road in Libertyville, near the site of the current facility.
Winchester House, which opened in the 19th century as the county's poor farm, hasn't been at full capacity and has been losing money for years.
Management Performance Associates has conducted three county-funded studies of Winchester House operations in recent years. In a 2005 report, it said the aging facility couldn't compete with the growing number of health-care options today. It recommended downsizing and expanding services for people with Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia.
If the county's plan gains approval from the Illinois Health Facilities Planning board, the new facility will cost $31 million to build. Officials expect to borrow money to fund the project.
The money for the consulting work is included in that estimate, Powell said.
The contract will cover the length of the project, regardless of how long construction takes, Powell said.
"If it takes six years, it takes six years," he said. "If it takes three years, it takes three years."
Officials have estimated the new facility could be ready within four years.