Advocates for Nursing Home Care announce the ANHC Community Collaborative

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (WAND) - The Advocates for Nursing Home Care announces the launching of a needs assessment and formation of a community collaborative to address the need for additional nursing home care in Champaign County.

The collaborative is made up of local stakeholders.

With the closure of University Rehabilitation, and the downsizing of ClarkLindsey, ANHC is concerned about the shortage of quality nursing home beds for seniors.

The group is working with local government officials, non-profit administrators, health officials, and citizens to come up with solutions.

The involvement of the collaborative brings together local community partners to participate in a needs assessment, help in the development of a market study, develop a business plan, and identify an owner/operator and location for the services recommended by the needs assessment and market study.

According to the 2021 Long-Term Care Inventory from the Illinois Department of Public Health, the Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board identifies Champaign County as having a deficit of nursing home beds.

Champaign County is expected to have 411 of the 721 beds needed for the population, according to IDPH calculations.

The shortage will also have an impact on Medicaid bed availability in the county. By placing Medicaid patients outside of the county.

The Champaign-Urbana Public Health District will conduct the assessment, which will be launched on August 29.

It will be funded by Champaign County and is expected to include a survey, interviews, and focus groups of providers, users, and family members.