Sunny Hill Nursing Home Reaches Full Capacity, Completes Bed Upgrades

Will County’s Sunny Hill Nursing Home is operating at 100% capacity with a waiting list for admissions, prompting officials to consider reinstating a policy that would prioritize county residents, Administrator Maggie McDall told the county health committee Wednesday.

“We have 156 beds and we are completely full with a waiting list,” McDall said. “It has been extremely busy with people seeking admission.”

The facility plans to address its admission policy at next month’s committee meeting, likely reverting to a resolution that would limit new admissions to Will County residents. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the facility had modified its admission criteria.

“I believe in prior years during COVID we did address this in May,” McDall said. “I will be addressing it and seeking to revert back to our original resolution.”

Under the previous policy, preference was given to Will County residents, though family members of county taxpayers could also qualify for admission if their Will County relative had been a taxpayer for at least five years.

The nursing home is completing a series of facility upgrades, with the final unit set to receive new beds and mattresses on April 8. All six residential avenues will have received new beds once this installation is complete.

“As of yesterday, I did start the process with regards to working with ARPA to get disbursed the funding and get the ball rolling in terms of new furniture for all resident bedroom areas,” McDall said. The furniture project will include nightstands, wardrobes, and drawer sets for all 156 rooms.

In response to committee questions, McDall confirmed that the facility is continuing its raised garden bed program for residents.

“Planting should be starting this week. We have ordered all the plants for the outside on our lower level patio,” she said. “Our life engagement team is actually working with the residents to determine what they want to plant. They will be involved in that planting, and then our gardeners will be coming in, as will any volunteers, to help with that process.”

Committee members also inquired about the facility’s protocols for handling norovirus outbreaks, with McDall reporting that the nursing home is currently managing such an outbreak affecting one wing.

“At this point as a nursing home, it’s something we’re going to have to live with, and we are going to persistently have outbreaks periodically only because we have such a vast number of people that come in and out of the facility every day,” McDall explained.

She noted that the facility has moved away from the stringent lockdown protocols implemented during COVID-19, instead adopting more targeted approaches to manage outbreaks while maintaining family access to residents.

“We bend and weave and adapt different strategies to make sure that we’re keeping everybody as safe as possible,” McDall said. “But by the same token, that rigidity and that stringency like closing things down and not allowing people to visit, that’s not what we do anymore. This is something we’re going to have to live with.”

The facility also works closely with area hospitals through their post-acute care networks, particularly with Silver Cross Hospital, to coordinate patient transfers when beds become available.

Committee members discussed scheduling a tour of Sunny Hill, with McDall proposing early May before Mother’s Day for the visit. The committee also recommended an annual review of the facility’s fee schedule, which was most recently adjusted effective January 1, 2025.