Kenosha---In the 1990’s, Kenosha County’s Brookside Care Center was in danger of closing. Instead, the decision was made to replace the county-run nursing home on Washington Road with a brand new facility.
Now the place is growing again. A ground-breaking ceremony was held Tuesday for a $20 million expansion project that’ll include a stand-alone assisted living facility and a physical therapy wing, among other improvements.
Speaking in Brookside’s dining room, County Executive Jim Kreuser said the key over the years was to reduce local support by increasing federal reimbursements. That meant a higher level of documentation, and more work for employees. "We changed things," Kreuser said. "That's what turned the fiscal picture around."
Over the past ten years, the county subsidy to keep the place afloat went from $2.4 million to zero.
Kreuser also attributed a flourishing Brookside to the vision and commitment displayed by both past and present county elected officials."We stand here today because we're on the shoulders of people before me who had vision."
The Brookside expansion comes at a time when officials in Racine are considering selling the county-owned Ridgewood Care Center.
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