A few weeks ago, we blogged about Butler County hiring a real estate company to evaluate the county-owned nursing home, Sunnyview Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. Now that county commissioners are working on the 2014 budget, they must make a decision on whether to sell the county home or not.
According to an article on TribLive.com, the county is accepting proposals through Dec. 13 from companies who may be interested in buying Sunnyview. In 2013, the 220-bed nursing home operated on a $20 million budget. Nearly $1.4 million came from the county and the rest from patients and insurers. Commissioners have set the minimum sale price for Sunnyview at $13.5 million.
If Sunnyview is sold to a private owner, the county could see significant cost savings, as staff at the home make up one-third of the county workforce. Hundreds of county workers would be removed from the county payroll if the nursing home is sold. The sale of the home would also have to cover the value of some future pensions as well as make up for the loss of those employees who retire and remove their pensions.